Chapter one
(Jackie’s POINT OF VIEW)
THE WAY I SEE IT, LIFE IS LIKE A VAMPIRE. It sucks most of the time, period. It’s ever thirsty for pain, and it aims to drain you dry.
And that is why most people appreciate my work of killing them. My name is Jackie Chang, and I’m a Vampire Hunter… in the loosest sense of the word. Although I’ve said that life sucks like a vampire, it actually pays to get them killed. Well, I’m an expatriate from Singapore invited by the governor of Jeju Province to hunt these bloodsucking creatures – For every vampire slain, a quarter million Korean Won goes into my pocket. And that roughly equates to about two hundred and fifty U.S. dollars. Sounds lucrative huh? Well, not everyone can be a vampire hunter, though. In fact, I’ve gone through years of rigorous apprenticeship in Tokuyama, Japan to become one.
Jeju Province is the only special self-governing province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country’s largest island. The volcanic island lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of South Jeolla Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946. Jeju Province is sort of a city-state, so its capital city is also called Jeju. To the south, it meets Seogwipo City at the top of Hallasan, the island’s only mountain. The island is half a size bigger than Singapore, but yet it only has a population of less than 400,000 – not even one-tenth of Singapore’s population.
Here I am, on Jeju island working with two other vampire hunters; my team of sorts – Seiji Inada, and Han Mirae. Like me, Seiji is also a foreigner except he’s from Tokuyama, Japan. Seiji has far more experience than me, given the fact that he’s nearly twice my age.
Of course the ability to hunt vampires isn’t always about experience; it could be just a matter of luck and timing. Yes, there were times when Seiji reported five or six vampires slain in a single night. But that’s probably because he had gotten there first, was equipped with better weapons, and got to to kill these vampires first. Yet, among the the three of us, I’m definitely not the worst in terms of number of total kills. Han Mirae scores the lowest number of killings – She scored zero, to be exact.
To be fair, Mirae isn’t actually a vampire hunter. She’s actually an orphaned native of Jeju island, whom we invited to help us with the daily administration of paperwork, as well as to bridge the cultural differences between the locals and us. Mirae was orphaned at a tender age, and had been raised in a Catholic Convent, until she was old enough to work and make a living. That’s how we met her and invited her to work for us. Apart from secretarial work, Mirae also treats the wounds and injuries that we receive after fighting and killing the vampires. Mirae just doesn’t enjoy that feeling of stabbing a sword across, or gunning a bullet into a vampire’s chest. She feels really bad about having to kill a fellow Korean. It just didn’t seem right to her about killing a fellow countryman. And I guess, that is why foreigners like Seiji and I were hired to do the killing. So that they can “outsource” the burden of guilt to us.
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I SIGHED HEAVILY AND RESTED MY CHIN on the table in front of me. I squinted at the stainless steel bowl in front of me for a moment, lifted my head slightly, and poured the ice-cold sour broth into my open mouth. Then I stood on my feet and left, leaving a few korean bills on the table to pay for my meal consisting primarily of Mul Naengmyeon, and small side-dishes of Kimchi and Banchan.
Mul Naengmyeon are strands of thin, hand-made buckwheat noodles, and is served in a large bowl with a tangy iced broth, raw julienned vegetables, a slice of a Korean pear, and often a boiled egg and/or cold beef.
Kimchi (also spelt gimchi or kimchee) is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and cooked with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice (kimchi bokkeumbap). Moreover, because it is both flavourful and healthy, the world-wide appeal and popularity of kimchi continues to grow.
Banchan refers to small side-dishes served in Korean cuisine. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal. They can be replenished during the meal as they are finished.
“Annyung hee kaseyo,” said the storeowner, as he bowed and greeted me goodbye. It’s autumn, and the weather was rather cold. I put on my coat and slid my hands into the deep pockets. Inside the fleece-lined black jacket nestled a silver gun loaded with matching bullets. It never hurts to be careful, but it certainly will if you were caught off guard and wind up as the next victim.
I have seen far too many victims lying in some back alley of the Samdo-2-dong neighbourhood, where they had been dragged when they were still alive and kicking, but were drained of blood before an hour had passed. And then there were even another sort of victims lying at the back alleys. I don’t usually concern myself too much with a vampire’s life, but it piques my curiosity whenever I find a dead vampire lying, well…dead, in an alley somewhere.
Today however, I haven’t killed a single vampire, though I had found a dead one, slain by one of it’s own kind. I didn’t know why they killed each other, but frankly, it mattered to me. For each one murdered is one less I could have killed by myself. Well, there goes a quarter million Korean Won, which I could have made otherwise.
Last night was a happier moment for me, as I had beaten the silver-haired japanese by one dead. I had killed one while Seiji hadn’t killed a single creature. That alone would have given me teasing rights for some time, though the fact that I myself had gotten one made it even better.
A sudden sound to my right made me freeze and melt against the side of Ramada Plaza, the gun loaded with silver bullets grasped firmly beneath my jacket. When the sound didn’t come again I slowly crept from the shadows and continued on my way, though a bit more wary than I had been. It never hurts to be extra careful. It might be approaching daybreak already… but still, it wasn’t too late - or too early, however you choose to view it - for vampires to be out and about.
Seiji had stayed indoors tonight, down with the flu, leaving me to do the hunting all by myself. Ah-chew!!! We normally work together, even if we aren’t often within arm’s length, and the Japanese hunter’s absence makes me feel a lot more vulnerable, so it was probably a good thing I hadn’t encountered any vampire tonight. The older man and I work separately, often on opposite sides of the island. But either of us would still be able to come to the other’s need if necessary. Just knowing the silver-haired hunter was out could make me feel a bit more secure. Honestly speaking, Seiji had saved my butt more times than I could count.
I let go of the gun in my pocket as I neared my home at the Samdo-1-dong district, which also functions as our team’s headquarters. I glanced around a few times for any preying eyes, just to play safe. When I found none I stepped into the house, closing out the night that was brightening into dawn at last.
The interiors of the house were quite neat, a result of Mirae’s efforts. If I were living by myself, the house would have been strewn with empty instant noodles cups, tidbit packages and candy wrappers. So it’s really fortunate that Seiji and I have Mirae living with us. The girl was currently curled up in the large armchair that gave her a nice view of the empty street outside, a book on her lap. She looked up when I came in, and smiled.
“Nuh Muol ilk-go itsuh?” I asked her what she was reading.
“I’m reading a korean romance novel,” replied Mirae. “It’s entitled “The First Shop of Coffee Prince”. It’s about a tomboyish female who gets mistaken as a guy, and she starts working in a coffeeshop owned by the cocky son of a rich family.”
“Chaemi it-neun geot gat-ey,” I said it sounded rather interesting. “By the way, how is Seiji getting on with the flu?”
“Seiji is sleeping now. Before he turned in, he said he’ll be feeling better enough tomorrow to go hunting with you,” said Mirae, before returning to her book.
“Muoragu?! What!!!” I gaped until my jaws dropped to the ground, and my eyes could see my hair growing. The Japanese hunter’s presence makes me feel safer, but still… “If he comes with me, he’ll start killing more vampires!”
Mirae rolled her eyes. “Well that’s the point, isn’t it?”
“Well yeah, but so what? He’s already…” I tried to come up with a number but failed, “a lot ahead of me, and pretty soon he’ll be so far ahead I’ll never be able to catch up with him!”
Mirae sighed and set her book down. “I’m going to sleep now, you probably should too.”
“I don’t need any sleep!” I declared to her retreating back. “I can stay up all day and night if I want to!”
“Keojitmal hajimayo! Quit lying, Jackie!” Mirae ordered, crossing her arms, and after furrowing her eyebrows at me as if daring me to do it, she turned and headed up the stairs.
“I’ll prove to you I don’t need sleep, Han Mirae,” I said to myself. Then I seated myself in the chair she’d vacated, staring out the window with wide-open eyes, determined to prove the korean girl wrong. Almost immediately though, my eyes started drooping, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep to meet Alice in Wonderland…
I awoke with a start, all senses alert. I didn’t remember having slept for a long time… But, oh my goodness, a day had passed, and it was already evening right now. Actually, I didn’t need to look so surprised that I woke up this late. We hunters sleep and awake according to the vampires’ hours so we could hunt them down more efficiently. Yawning widely and stretching my arms above my head, I saw Seiji eating a bowl of cereal, while Mirae grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and poured herself some as well.
“Chal jasseoyo? Did you sleep well?” Mirae grinned. “I remember last night someone was saying he didn’t need any sleep.” She giggled.
I grabbed a bowl too, and poured myself some cereals, which I wolfed down entirely before Mirae had even taken three bites. I then set about gathering my weapons, belting and strapping them on accordingly, before sitting on the armchair. I stared sternly at Seiji - almost like my high school principal - urging him to eat faster so we could leave immediately and hunt those vampires.
Seiji continued eating at a normal pace however, completely denying my existence. For a while I thought I was the invisible man, he had no regards for me at all. I decided to give up and slumped over backward into the chair. The moment Seiji stood however, I sprang on my feet and sprinted out the door like the roadrunner. Beep! Beep!
“I’m going to beat you tonight!” I challenged. Seiji lugged a bag of weapons over his shoulder and smiled mockingly.
“No you won’t.” His smile turned into a look of sheer confidence.
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IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW THE VAMPIRES HAVE COME ABOUT, I need to tell you a short history about the Koreans in Jeju island around fifty years ago, so please bear with me:
In the early morning hours of April 3, 1948, bonfires were lit at the mountain tops of Jeju island. The flames signaled the start of an armed insurrection of the people of Jeju. Some 600 members of the Ja-Wee-Dae (Self Defense Force) and 1,000 supporters simultaneously raided 10 police stations and attacked police officials and the living quarters of the Northwest Youth League members, the National People’s Association, the Independence Promotion Association, the Greater Korea Youth League and other right-wing activists. The insurgents successfully took over the government of Jeju and formed the People’s Guerrilla Army. Each myeon (district) had a battalion of 30 core members experienced in combat. Battalions were further grouped into cells.
On April 5, the US Military Government established the Jeju Military Command and imposed a general curfew. On April 10, the US Military augmented the 9th Regiment with the 5th Regiment from Pusan. In addition, 1,700 police were sent to Jeju island.
The Americans were unhappy with the Jeju police’s effort to settle the insurrection peacefully by redressing the grievances of the rebels and replaced Jeju native police with those from the mainland. The American commanders issued a direct order to Kim Ik Ruhl, the 9th Regimental commander in charge of the “anti-bandit” suppression campaign. Kim was ordered to conduct scorched-earth campaigns against the Jeju people.
When Kim Ik Ruhl refused to obey the Americans, the US military changed its tactics and ordered Kim to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the guerrillas. Subsequently Kim met with Kim Dal Sam, the guerrilla commander and hammered out a cease-fire agreement after 72 hours of negotiation.
However, General W. Dean, the US Military Governor, vetoed the agreement. (The Korean People’s Army during the Korean War captured Dean. In spite of his crimes against the Korean people, he was released unharmed.)
At about 12 o’clock, May 1, 1948, 30 members of the Northwest Youth League and the Greater East Youth League attacked Oh-ra-ri and burned down 12 homes. Some 20 guerrillas from a nearby village armed with rifles and spears chased the gangsters away. The police came to rescue the latter and fired into the village, even though the guerrillas had fled the scene. One policeman’s relative and a villager were killed in this encounter.
The police occupied Oh-ra-ri and began to interrogate its residents. At 4:30 PM, Kim Ik Ruhl’s army unit arrived and chased away the police. The US military and the police opted to ignore Kim’s report that the Oh-ra-ri burning was done by the right-wing youth gangsters and instead blamed the guerrillas and Kim for it.
The US military forced Dong-ah ilbo and other news press to report its fabricated version of the Oh-ra-ri incident. The US military made a propaganda film (“May Day on Jeju-do”), using an airplane, that “documents” the terrorist acts perpetrated by the guerrillas.
On May 3, 1948, a 9th Regiment unit of 7 Koreans and 2 Americans under Capt. Drews was attacked by a ‘hostile’ force. Capt. Drews was escorting a group of defectors. Several defectors were killed and the rest escaped. Initially, the police blamed the guerrillas for the attack, but it retracted its story when the Americans captured one of the attackers who turned out to be a policeman.
The US military sided with the police and replaced Kim Ik Ruhl with a hardline rightwinger Park Jin Gyong. Park was more than willing to obey the Americans and began to prepare for massive scorched-earth campaigns against his own countrymen.
The guerrillas responded by assassinating key members of the youth gangs and the police. They bombed several police and military installation. They interrupted the May 10 election for division of Korea. The Jeju residents showed their support for the guerrillas by boycotting the election.
The US military responded by imposing a complete blockade of the Jeju island and ordered Park to step up his ‘anti-Red’ campaigns. Park began his campaigns on May 12, 1948 by burning two villages and arresting 218 of the residents. By mid-June, Park boasted capturing 3,126 “POWs”.
When Kim Ik Ruhl commanded the 9th Regiment, the army was perceived to be on the people’s side but under Park, the Regiment turned into a mortal enemy of the people. The Korean soldiers wore American helmets and American military uniforms and fired American rifles. From a distance, the Korean soldiers looked like midget Americans attacking their own people under American commanders.
The guerrillas attempted to counter Park’s ruthless campaigns and formed the People’s Liberation Army in May (aka Red Army). The People’s Army mounted numerous attacks on the army units. On June 18, 1948, Mun San Kil assassinated Park Jin Gyong. The US military appointed Choe Gyon Rok as the new commander of the 9th Regiment. Choe continued Park’s terror campaign against the people. On July 15, 1948, Song Yo Chang (a pro-Japanese traitor) replaced Choe.
In early August, six key leaders of the People Liberation Army, including Kim Dal Sam and Kang Gyu Chan, escaped from Jejudo and the People’s Army prepared to fight a prolonged war. Song needed time to resupply his units for his upcoming campaigns. A temporary lull settled on the island.
In early September, Song began his massive anti-guerrilla campaign by indiscriminately destroying village after village. Later, Kim Sang Gyom replaced Song. Kim ordered his troops to “kill all, burn all, loot all” and “wipe out by burning, by killing and by starving”. The guerrillas were defenseless and Kim reported killing a large number of “bandits”.
In October 1948, the 14th Regiment (Yosu) refused to join the Jeju campaign and mutinied. The mutiny was brutally put down by the American military and the anti-bandit campaign intensified on Jeju and villagers were killed in large numbers. Early 1949, the US military augmented the 9th Regiment with the 2nd Regiment. In addition, US Navy and Air Force units were mobilized to attach the guerrillas. 18 US warships completely surrounded the island and bombarded villages with 37-mm canons. American L4 and L5 recon planes dropped grenades and bombs. On the ground, anti-tank guns, mortars, 0.5 inch machine guns, rockets, M1 rifles and other American weapons were used against the unarmed people.
All villages situated more than 4 km from the coast were completely destroyed. The surviving villagers fled to the mountains or to the coastal areas. Those who fled to the mountains faced death by the troops, by starvation and by freezing. Those who fled to the “safe zones” along the coast fared no better. They were treated as “those who aided the rebels” and “Red tainted” and often tortured or killed.
On March 2, 1949, the US military established the Jeju Region Command under Col. Yu Jae Hung (another pro-Japanese traitor) and dispatched a Special Forces unit under Col. Kim Yong Ju. The Americans mounted the final all-out campaign to wipe out the rebels on Jejudo.
Yu mounted a two-prong attack - on the one hand he offered amnesty to those who surrendered and on the other hand he intensified terror campaigns against the people. Many rebels surrendered seduced by Yu’s false promise of amnesty and they were tortured and forced to reveal the secret hideouts of the rebels.
Finally, Yu’s torturers gathered enough information and Yu was able to mount the final attack on the rebel positions. From March 12 to April 12, Yu killed or wounded 2,345 “guerrillas” and killed 1,608 civilians and captured 3,600 sympathizers. A US CIC report states that the armed guerrillas numbered no more than 250 and that there were about 1,000-1,500 supporters. Yu’s reported kills far exceed the US figures and indicate large-scale massacres of innocent civilians.
On April 9, 1949, Rhee Syngman, a Korean-American put in charge of South Korea, came to Jejudo to celebrate his victory over the people of Jejudo. On May 16, 1949, the Jeju Military Command was dissolved and the bulk of the army and police units were removed from Jeju.
Thus ended the bloody insurrection. However, the massacre of innocent civilians flared up again when the Korean War started in 1950. The police arrested former rebels and suspected sympathizers. In one massacre alone, the police at one location shot 192 villagers. Thousands were taken out to the sea and drowned. Countless others were buried, often still alive, in unmarked graves - no police records, no trace.
The suppression of rebellion by the South Korean army has been called “brutal”, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of many villages on the island, and sparking rebellions on the Korean mainland. The rebellion, which included the mutiny of several hundred members of the South Korean Constabulary Regiment, lasted until 1949. This series of massive killings was historically known as the “Jeju Massacre”. Subsequently, the remains of these thousands of massacre victims were sealed up in a cave on Mount Halla. It is the island’s only volcano, as well as the highest mountain in South Korea.
-source of article (http://www.kimsoft.com/1997/43hist.htm),( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jeju_massacre).
Decades later, for mystical reasons still unknown to me, some of these victims have been resurrected as vampires. The cave of Mount Halla was mysteriously unsealed and a number of vampires were unleashed to terrorise the islanders. The locals call these vampires “Heubhyeol Jombi”, which means “Blood-sucking Zombies” in the Korean language. One of the theories was that, there were vampire bats in the cave where the massacre victims were buried. While in the cave, these victims were bitten by the vampire bats, and subsequently turned into the vampires which we have come to know in this story.
In this story, there were two opposing covens of vampires: the “Regiments”, who used to belong to the American-led Korean Army that were in charge of killing the insurgents, while these murdered insurgents have become the “Guerrillas” vampires who swear the “Regiments” as their mortal enemies.
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THE FIRST BODY WE FOUND WAS STILL WARM, and we knew it had been only minutes since the vampire had left this victim. Seiji suggested we should stick together, and I reluctantly agreed, even though it meant I wouldn’t be getting full credit for the kill when we made it.
“They’ll come to us, you don’t need to be so anxious,” Seiji said flatly when I kept running ahead, his gun grasped tightly in his right hand.
“I want to be the one to kill it,” I proclaimed fiercely, whirling to point my gun at a dog that had knocked over a box as it wandered by. The dog stuck out its tongue and froze mid-step, and I whirled around again.
“And if someone feels like a late-night stroll, how do you think he’ll react when he sees a young man running across the streets with a gun?” Seiji asked. “Be patient, okay?”
“Hai hai. Wakarimasu, Sensei,” I muttered in Japanese. Yes, I understand, teacher. Then I tucked the gun back into my trenchcoat carefully.
Suddenly we both froze at the sound of footsteps not far away. Instinctively we sank into the shadows with practised ease, Seiji drew a gun and a number of stakes. A flash of wings at the corner was all it took for us to send a barrage of bullets in that direction, and something hit the ground, twitching and writhing in pain.
It screamed a terrible, inhuman screech that hurt my ears, and Seiji raised his gun and fired once. The creature jerked for a moment, and became still. At that, we knew the thing was dead.
“It’s a Guerrilla Vampire,” Seiji confirmed, prodding the creature with his boot. It looked far too human for my taste, and even though I had seen the bat wings fluttering as it was morphing, he couldn’t help but feel a little sick.
“I’m the one who killed it though,” I announced proudly.
“Well… I remember, while it was lying there still alive, I WAS THE ONE who killed it,” Seiji argued.
“But you couldn’t have done it without me,” I protested, twirling my gun.
“Please, please don’t wave your gun around,” Seiji warned me nervously, raising his hands before me. “They can be dangerous.”
“Oh, right.” I promptly tucked it back into my jacket, and Seiji sighed and turned away.
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Chapter Two
FROM ATOP THE ORIENTAL HOTEL AT SAMDO-2-DONG, a young vampire was observing Seiji Inada and Jackie Chang with watchful coal-black eyes. His almost inhumanly pale skin marked him out already, but his fine features and coal-black hair identified him further. During the Jeju Massacre that took place over fifty years ago, he was one of the “Guerrilla” fighters. He couldn’t believe he had now turned into a vampire. He turned and leaped off the hotel building, changing into a large, silky black bat. After a brief flight above the city he reached an old deserted motel along the street of Sanjiro. The motel, also called “Yeoinsuk” in Korean, was the home which Taewoo and his brother now shared alone -though once it had been occupied by backpackers and budget-travellers from all over the world- and flew in through a window.
A haunting melody drifted through the hallways, and the young vampire followed it to his brother’s room, where he listened for a few minutes at the door. It stopped before long, and a voice came from within. “You can come in Taewoo,” his brother said, and Taewoo pushed open the door.
“You play as beautifully as ever Eunwoo,” he praised his brother, only playful sarcasm present in his tone. Eunwoo glanced at him, then began putting his flute away in its black velvet-lined case, carefully taking it apart and laying each piece in its place.
“You’re late.”
“I found a few interesting things along the way,” Taewoo said by way of explanation seating himself on his brother’s bed. He had indeed, the statement was no lie. The hunters seemed relatively new to Jeju City; Taewoo had never seen either of the two before. It was possible they were traveling hunters, but they certainly weren’t doing this simply for sport however, they had weapons of quite expensive quality that no normal law-abiding citizen would carry.
“Oh? Professional Hunters?”
“Yeah, two of them, both males. The younger one looked about seventeen to eighteen, while the other looked like he was in his mid-thirties, but with silver hair.”
“Hhmm…” Eunwoo was silent for a long moment. “They could be useful to us.”
“How is that so?”
“Our battles with the “Regiments” are growing heated, it would be a turn in our favour if we could lead the hunters to a few of our enemies.” Eunwoo stared at the boarded window, formulating a plan as he did so.
The “Regiment” vampires were their sworn blood enemies for decades, ever since they had slaughtered the members of the “Guerrilla” forces and innocent villagers. It was doubtless they would pursue Eunwoo or Taewoo if they saw them. A vampire never forgave a grudge, though the “Regiments” had expanded it to include all of the “Guerrillas”, instead of the only one who had slighted them.
It was by doing so that the “Guerrillas” had been slaughtered before. Taewoo had been sick with sun fever, and Eunwoo had stayed behind with him while the others went on a mass raid. They had never been able to do it though, because they had been ambushed and bound, then left in the open until the sun came out. Eunwoo had found them the night after, when they hadn’t returned Taewoo had gotten worried. That night had changed him though. The “Regiments” had made it clear they had to destroy all the “Guerrillas”, and so it was. The “Regiments” were greatly depleted thanks to their efforts, though the war still raged between the surviving members.
The war had been growing more heated over the last few years, and there were around a few hundred “Regiment” vampires left. Eunwoo was the most powerful vampire in the city, and even though he’d been ambushed by several “Regiments” on numerous occasions, he’d always fought them off and killed as many as he could. No one vampire could take on Eunwoo by themselves, and they had long given up on doing that. However, Taewoo was another matter. He too, was very powerful, but he was not as strong as his brother, and had nearly been killed a few times before.
Eunwoo snorted gently, pulling the curtains on the window shut as well as light began to seep through the cracks in the wood. Honour meant nothing to the “Regiments”, despite their claim to have started “anti-communist” campaign in order to uphold “democratic” ideologies. They resorted to ambush, unfair numbers, and traps to win their battles, and though they had beaten many of the “Guerrilla” vampires in that way, the two brothers had never been caught in such a net.
But if the “Regiments” wanted to fight dirty…Oh, they would know who had led the hunters to them, no doubt. But if it would rid them of their sworn enemies…well, the “Guerrillas” could fight dirty as well.
Eunwoo smirked, then turned to Taewoo, who still lay on his bed watching him curiously. “Go get some sleep Taewoo,” he told his brother, and Taewoo sat up.
“You’ve got a plan, don’t you?” He asked, a grin forming on his lips.
Eunwoo nodded smugly. “That I do little brother, that I do.”
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Chapter Three
EUNWOO STOOD ATOP THE HIGHEST ROOF POINT OF THE DESERTED MOTEL, watching as the moon rose slowly higher in the sky. It was a beautiful night out; clouds blanketing the sky and a brisk breeze dancing between the streets of Sanjiro and Dongmunno, though the scent of rain had washed down the fragrance of fallen autumn leaves.
Eunwoo had planned it all out: the destruction of the “Regiments”. There was a young vampire, about Taewoo’s age, named Yujin, who was moderately strong as far as the females went. She was completely obsessed with Taewoo, and could easily be guided to a predetermined destination where she could then be pitted against the hunters. It would save them the trouble of fighting the two themselves, and if Yujin happened to be killed in the process… well, that would be just too bad for her.
But then, if the hunters were found to be strong enough, there was the matter of disposing of them once their job had been completed. Oh, but Eunwoo had figured that out moments after learning of their existence. If they were found to be strong, and actually survived their fight with the “Regiments”, they would no doubt be exhausted, and could be killed easily.
Eunwoo smirked slightly, shifting into his bat form and darting in through a window. He flitted through the hallways, silently -except for tiny squeaks that gave away his location- and quickly arrived before Taewoo’s room. Changing back to his original human-looking form, he pushed open the door, and nodded to his brother. “Ta junbi dwaetnya?” Is everything ready?
Taewoo nodded. “I might have trouble finding Yujin though, so I don’t know how long it will take.”
“Kwenchana. If you don’t find her tonight, it can wait. These hunters will stay on until we are eradicated, or until they are slain. We can take our time.” Eunwoo glanced at him, then turned to leave. “Choshim hae.” Be careful.
Taewoo paused, slightly surprised at the cautionary words, but rose from where he’d been seated on his bed and went to pry the wood planks from his window. Tossing them on the floor he jumped to the window-pane, then changed into a silky black bat and flew away into the night.
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Chapter Four
(Jackie’s POINT OF VIEW)
SEIJI STRAPPED ON HIS WEAPONS CAREFULLY, perfectly aware that I was watching him from the window. I had stepped outside to wait for him, eager to get started. It was a good few minutes later that Seiji finally finished and turned to Mirae as he buckled one last buckle.
“You can come and eat with us if you want,” he said, and Mirae paused.
Mirae had come out to eat with us a few times over the past month or so, but it was nice of Seiji to offer. Normally she just picked up some food in her favourite late-night café, but tonight coming out with us for “dinner” sounded like a good idea. It had been a while after all.
“Chohayo,” Mirae agreed to come along. She left the house with us, careful to lock the door behind her. Our primary enemy might be vampires, but burglars were just as bad. Our house had actually been broken into once before; somebody had scaled the wall and climbed in through a window (that I had inadvertently left open), then took away the TV set, computer, playstation, and other valuables. Upon this discovery Seiji had posted a sign on every window in the house, reminding me to shut them. I removed them all early in the morning, but they had served their purpose.
Anyway, the windows and doors were all locked tight before we left, thus safeguarding it against the casual burglar. I lent Mirae a gun just in case we were attacked, confident she could mow down any vampire we came across before I myself could even bat an eyelid. She never seemed glad about this though, the fact that these vampires were her fellow countrymen who had died for ideological causes. Yet somehow, these dead people who were sealed in the cave of Mount Halla, had mysteriously resurrected into vampires that could also turn into bats.
The weather was drizzling when we got to the Korean-Chinese restaurant nearby, and a few people were huddled under the roof. The three of us slipped past them, weapons carefully concealed, and requested a table for three. Once seated we ordered our food, which consisted of Jjajang Myeon, Jjampong, and Tangsuyuk.
One of my personal favourites, Jjajang Myeon is actually a Chinese dish popular among Koreans. It consists of wheat noodles topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (a salty black soybean paste), diced meat and vegetables, and also seafood. The noodles are accompanied with a side dish of danmuji (yellow pickled radish).
Similar to Singapore’s Laksa, Jjampong is a spicy seafood noodle soup, which really has a kick! It’s packed with shrimp and it’s absolutely delicious.
Tangsuyuk is another popular Chinese delicacy in Korea, which is more familiarly known to Singaporeans as “sweet and sour pork”. The pork is deep fried to crispy and drenched with lots of sauce, it really goes well with rice too!
On our behalf, Seiji even ordered a few bottles of “soju” to go with the dishes. Soju is an alcoholic beverage native to Korea. The main ingredient is rice, almost always in combination with other ingredients such as wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca (called dangmil in Korean). Soju is clear in colour and typically contains an alcohol content of about 20 percent. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though it is often slightly sweeter due to the addition of sugar in the manufacturing process.
“Maybe we should just go home tonight,” Seiji mused, eating a forkful of noodles.
I looked up sharply, and asked in Japanese, “Nani? Naze?” (What? Why?)
Seiji blinked. “Because it’s raining.” He gestured briefly outside, where a gentle mist of water could be seen. I glared with narrowed eyes at the water, then slurped up the last few strands of my Jjajang Myeon.
“Well, rain isn’t going to stop me,” I declared, pounding my fist on the table. Then I sniggered and stared slyly at Seiji. “Is it going to stop you, master Seiji?”
“Of course not. If you insist on going, then I’ll be right in front of you until you drown.”
“Wait, why wouldn’t you drown?” I demanded. If Seiji were in front of me, it stood to reason that he would drown first, followed by me. Not that I would drown of course, just hypothetically, for the sake of discussion.
“Because I’m taller than you.”
I paused, trying to picture this in my mind. I rolled my eyes from left to right. “Oh, fine.”
“Good one, Master Seiji,” Mirae congratulated Seiji with a smile. Seiji shoveled the rest of his noodles into his mouth, raising the bowl to his lips, then sat back.
“Ikimashou.” Seiji said let’s go. He then rose from his seat, leaving a few bills on the table to pay for our meal, including a tip. Seiji always believes in showing good manners.
“Chal tanyeo oseyo! Please return home safely!” Mirae said, waving as she walked away. Seiji and I waved back, until she was out of sight. I had already handed a gun to Mirae, so I had no worries of her being hurt on her way home. I’m sure Mirae could take on just about any vampire or robber she was set up against. Although that hadn’t exactly been proven, I was pretty sure she could handle crisis very well. Mirae is a smart girl. Unless of course she came upon a really hot and irresistable male robber, that would be a different story… Oh well.
“Are you ready, Master Seiji?” I asked.
“Of course,” Seiji replied with a smile. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“I’m ready now,” I declared with a fierce grin. I reached into my fleece-lined jacket and pulled out my silver gun, twirling it impressively like a western gunslinger. It didn’t work exactly as planned though, because I dropped it and it went off with a loud bang that made me jump. I was flushed. This was so embarrassing, I thought.
There was a moment of silence suddenly filled with barking dogs. Then I bent and gingerly picked the gun up. “Oops.” I didn’t know where to hide my face from the embarrassment.
“Yes…” Seiji-san agreed, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. “Oops.”
“Ikimashou. Let’s go,” I said, my ego was burst like a balloon due to that embarrassing move.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter Five
TAEWOO RACED ABOVE FROM THE STREETS OF SEOGWANGNO TO DONGMUNNO, searching for Yujin. Yujin could be anywhere in the island, but as always she’d sought him out anyway. So he figured he wouldn’t have to look incredibly hard.
Eunwoo was back at the motel, awaiting success or failure. Taewoo knew his elder brother was right when he said it didn’t matter if he couldn’t get the first part of the plan to work tonight, but he wanted to get it done even if it could wait until tomorrow.
Within thirty minutes after he left the house, a young female vampire leaped in front of him, unexpectedly, and Taewoo had to leap over her to avoid running into her altogether. “I’ve been looking for you,” she informed him with a smile when he had landed and turned to face her, and Taewoo sighed.
“Oh.” He probably should have found the hunters first, he realised, that way he didn’t have to lead Yujin all around town on a wild goose chase. Oh well… “Come with me Yujin,” Taewoo ordered, and Yujin looked at him suspiciously.
“Why?” Usually she was the one who tried to get him to go places with her, why was he taking her somewhere now? She didn’t believe he would do anything to her; she loved him after all, but…
“Ddarawa,” Taewoo told Yujin to follow him. With that, he morphed into a bat and fluttered down under the moon, and into the streets of Jeju City. Yujin followed him a moment later, sending a wave of relief through Taewoo. He had been afraid she wouldn’t follow at first because of the hesitant look on her face, but now that she had obliged, he was free to look for the hunters. Yujin would follow him until he stopped or until the sun came up now, he usually had to ditch her in a particularly clever way to shake her off. She stuck to him like superglue; it was most annoying.
Gliding above the city purposefully, Taewoo scoured the streets below for a flash of silver, the hair colour that was now the exclusive trademark of the Japanese hunter. It was raining lightly, and Taewoo began to doubt that the hunters would even be out tonight. He didn’t know how dedicated they were, but since it was only a light drizzle, he hoped it wouldn’t be enough to deter them tonight. If it started raining hard though, he himself would have to go home without fulfilling his goal - vampires couldn’t fly in heavy rain, and it was a nightmare running through three-inch deep puddles when you were already drenched.
There! A sudden tad of silver caught his eye and he wheeled sharply. The street he’d just passed came below him once again, and he saw now that Jackie was actually holding something over his head to shield himself from the rain. If Taewoo had been in his human-like form, he would have smirked.
He landed onto the street of Jung-angno, where the two hunters were headed for, and shape-shifted into human form. Yujin was right behind him, and when she stood upon two feet again, she looked around.
“What are we doing here, Taewoo oppa?” Yujin asked affectionately. (“Oppa” actually stands for “older brother” in korean, but it’s typically used by korean girls to address their boyfriends.)
“You’ll see in a minute,” he said under his breath, and Yujin nodded with a smile, anticipating something interesting no doubt. Taewoo glanced surreptitiously around the corner, the action unnoticed by both Yujin and the hunters, who were still coming toward them.
Taewoo concealed himself in a dark corner, and Yujin stood before him, exactly in the position where he wanted her to. The way they were standing, when the hunters came around the corner they would see her, but not him. He could escape and watch from a distance while she took on the hunters, just as Eunwoo had instructed him to.
Footsteps alerted Yujin of the hunter’s presence - she wasn’t stupid after all - and she stepped to look around the corner. “Someone’s coming Taewoo-oppa,” she told him. “Two guys. I wonder what they’re…”
Four gunshots echoed down the alley, and Yujin quickly swung back to press herself against the wall. She was unharmed. “They have guns!”
“Yes, I heard,” Taewoo commented dryly. They were good, he had to give them that. To recognise a vampire from a distance was no mean feat, most of the hunters couldn’t even recognise them up close. Taewoo had wandered among the people plenty of times, and they didn’t think him strange or different at all.
“Hide here,” he instructed, stepping forward. He was altering his plan a bit, but now Yujin wouldn’t blame him for leaving if she did escape, or even manage to kill the hunters.
“Towa julkka?” Yujin offered to help Taewoo engage the hunters, but Taewoo shook his head.
“They’re hunters, I saw them last night. You’re lucky you didn’t get hit, those are probably silver bullets they’re shooting,” Taewoo told her quietly, knowing full well that what he said was true. The silver bullet is the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a witch, a vampire, werewolf, or any other form of monsters.
“Hunters?” Yujin’s eyes suddenly widened a bit. “Byungsuk was talking about them a few nights ago, he said he could kill them.”
Taewoo snorted gently. “And now he’s dead. Go figure.”
“When did he-”
“Shikeureo, Yujin-ah,” Taewoo cut in abruptly, commanding Yujin to keep quiet. The hunters were running now; they would slow down at the corner, keep themselves silent, then burst around. Taewoo had seen hunters work before; he knew how they did things.
Sure enough, as they drew closer their steps faded away but for the occasional scuff against concrete. Taewoo flapped his cloak just a bit, and was satisfied when he heard a small gasp, but no gunfire. Good. They were intelligent enough to know none of his body was in shooting view, and they couldn’t kill him by firing at his cloak, but at least they were on edge enough to flinch at the small things. Taewoo knelt on the ground and morphed into a bat, then, making sure Yujin was watching for the hunters, darted around her and up onto the top of KAL Hotel, where he could observe the impending scene.
Yujin was still leaning tightly against the wall, no doubt waiting for the screams of the hunters that meant Taewoo had slain them, but she waited in vain. Neither party was aware that he was no longer in the picture, but was instead an observer, just as Eunwoo had instructed. Yes, everything was going perfectly.
Taewoo almost grinned when the hunters threw themselves around the corner, sparks flying from their gun barrels, silver bullets whizzing in the general direction of Yujin. The young female vampire, caught completely off guard - she had expected Taewoo to take care of them after all - was struck several times, but turned and ran, only to be shot down half a second later. The older of the two hunters, the one with silver hair, drew a long blade and beheaded her, permanently putting a stop to her escape attempts.
Taewoo smirked. Everything was going perfectly. The two hunters burned Yujin’s corpse, then walked away down the breeze-blown streets, seemingly oblivious to the slight rain that fell now. It was getting heavier, and Taewoo was glad to be headed home. He was getting drenched, and he didn’t like it.
“You are planning the murder of the “Regiments”, aren’t you? I didn’t think you could stoop so low,” said a figure from the back of Taewoo.
Taewoo smirked as he rose to his feet (he’d been crouching on the edge - like Spiderman - of the building to watch the hunters) and turned to face the owner of the familiar voice behind him. The pearly-white jacket the other vampire wore was a stark contrast to Taewoo’s own black, right down to the eye colour. Wasn’t this night turning interesting…
The rain truly began to fall now, and Lee Hyunsuk of the “Regiment” coven drew back his blade.
Guess I was wrong, Taewoo thought.
Taewoo had clearly forgotten that this place was not half a mile from Seomunno, where his enemies were lodged in. What a stupid thing to think they wouldn’t find him. Trust nothing to chance. But there was no getting around it now…
“Guess you were,” Taewoo agreed. He dodged the blade Hyunsuk swung at him by leaping off the edge of the building in a spectacular somersault dive, his cloak streaming out behind him like wings. He then swooped out into the sky on gigantic-looking bat wings, quite aware Hyunsuk was trailing behind him. Why wouldn’t he after all? A chance to kill one of the most powerful “Guerrilla” vampires, who wouldn’t leap at the chance?
Taewoo changed back into his human form atop the “Korean Air Centre”, a building just a street across, whirling to meet Hyunsuk as he scuttled down from the sky. Hyunsuk whipped out his blade as he landed, and Taewoo met it with his own slimmer blade that he’d pulled out from beneath his cloak with a clang of steel.
Their vampiric claws were just as dangerous, and Taewoo hissed as Hyunsuk swiped at him, drawing deep black blood. He couldn’t afford to lose much now since he hadn’t eaten for a few days. He’d been planning to eat tonight, and with additional blood lost, he’d be far weaker than he ever would want to be.
Taewoo drew blood with his sword, but such weapons did little good against a vampire. His only chance at actually killing Hyunsuk was beheading him, ripping his heart out, or dragging the fight out long enough for him to burn alive in the sun, since he didn’t happen to have any silver bullets handy. The only thing wrong with that last option was that he himself would die too. Hhmm.
It quickly became apparent that Taewoo was not going to win. He was already weak, and he berated himself silently for advancing on such a crucial part of the plan without at least feeding tonight. Black blood flowed from his wounds, and Hyunsuk was inflicting more. Taewoo wasn’t about to let him get the chance to behead him, athough that was getting a bit harder with each passing minute to keep from happening.
Finally, streaming blood from various wounds and eyeing the few he’d inflicted on Hyunsuk angrily, he backed to the edge of the building and threw himself off.
Darting through an open window, he exhaustedly pressed himself to the wall, firmly resisting the urge to look out and see where Hyunsuk was.
When Hyunsuk looked over the edge of the building, he couldn’t see the other vampire. Not wanting to lose this wonderful opportunity and assuming Taewoo had fled, he quickly turned into a bat and darted across the street, unknowingly leaving the “Guerrilla” vampire behind him.
Taewoo sank to the floor, his eyes shut gently now that he was reasonably certain Hyunsuk was gone. He hadn’t looked out the window yet, but he would… eventually. His breathing was a bit shallow, and his senses had dulled a bit, but he could still smell the korean girl downstairs. She would serve as his meal tonight. He might even leave her alive in thanks for saving him. Granted, she would do so unwillingly, and unknowingly, but all the same, it seemed a nice gesture.
Footsteps came up the stairs, and Taewoo’s eyes opened wearily. Oh good, she was coming upstairs, he wouldn’t have to move as much. Stairs would be a nightmare when he could barely summon the strength to get to his feet. The fight with Hyunsuk, plus the fact that he hadn’t fed in over three days probably had something to do with that, Taewoo reflected. He felt oddly empty, and his body was crying out for blood; a need he would only be too happy to satisfy if only he could get over to the door…
Well, he mused, a rueful smile sliding onto his lips, at least he was still alive. He’d made a few mistakes tonight to achieve this, most of which were the product of pure carelessness or irresponsibility on his part, and therefore easily preventable. If only they had been. What had sounded so simple back at the motel - lure Yujin to the hunters and watch what happens - had ended with Yujin’s death, his getting attacked by Hyunsuk, nearly killed by the same, and now in desperate need of blood.
Footsteps flip-flopped by the room - it sounded like the girl was wearing slippers - and Taewoo realised she wasn’t going to enter the room he was in. Damn. Now he had to get up and surprise her by flinging open the door.
He hauled himself to his feet and dragged himself over to the door in a trail of blood, listening for the girl’s footsteps to pass by again, ready to pull it open and sink his fangs into the girl’s neck at a moment’s notice. He stared at the doorknob as he waited, and wondered whether Eunwoo would be worried or not if he didn’t make it back tonight. It was nearly sunrise, and he might not be able to make it back in time. Not that he wanted to hide out in some abandoned building, but if it came to that, he’d…
The door opened all of a sudden, pounding Taewoo in the face with a loud WUMP!, sending him straight to the floor. Normally being hit with something as trivial as a door would only make him step back, maybe grimace a little, but never would he fall over. Yes it was certain, he was desperately in need of blood. Wait a second…
The girl craned her neck around the door with a look of surprise on her face, and froze when she saw Taewoo sitting on the floor, staining her cashmere carpet with blood. Taewoo had to give her due credit for not screaming. Even if he were simply a robber, a normal girl would have shrieked loud enough to wake all the neighbours within a hundred yards. It had happened a few times before, though Taewoo has always silenced those quickly.
“Huh?” The girl stared at him for a moment, and Taewoo noticed she had chestnut-coloured hair.
His eyes flashed red as he leaped to his feet, but he stumbled and hit the ground again, now definitely feeling the absence of blood. “Argh,” he hissed, and the girl stepped forward.
“Kwenchan-seyo?” she asked if he was alright.
Taewoo almost laughed to tears. He grinned at her, eyes still crimson. “Do I look like I’m okay?”
The girl backed away when she saw his fangs gleaming gently in the light. “Oh…You’re a-”
“A vampire, yeah.” In her moment of hesitation Taewoo tried to grab her, but found that he ended up on the floor. Again. How was he supposed to get home if he couldn’t get on his feet at all? The girl watched him warily, but Taewoo had to say he was surprised she didn’t run. She was either really stupid or… no, she was really stupid.
“Here.” The girl’s voice made him jump, figuratively of course, because he would never be surprised by anything, and Taewoo looked up, his eyes fading back to black when he did. The girl was holding out her hand to him, as if to help him up. Taewoo eyes her suspiciously, then scented the air. Well, nothing but the girl was in the room, he didn’t smell any metal that indicated a gun…. What was she up to? He waited a moment, just to see if she would pull some insanely big gun out on him or something that he hadn’t noticed, then took her offered hand. The world spun when he stood on his feet again, and he snatched at the doorframe, grabbing it to stay upright.
He glanced at the girl that stood so unwisely close to him, then sighed, and decided not to make her his meal tonight. He walked carefully to the window, trying not to fall over on the way, then realised there was no way he would be able to fly when he was this weak.
“Argh…” he muttered under his breath, then jumped when he suddenly noticed the girl standing next to him.
Mirae surveyed the vampire closely. He seemed to be awfully weak. Well, most of the time anyway. What had happened to him though, to get him so torn up? Could he be one one of those who had escaped being slaughtered by Jackie and Seiji? Who had attacked him? Could it have been Jackie and Seiji? But no, the wounds she saw were mostly blade wounds, and a vampire like this would never allow any hunter to get so close as to use a blade.
“What happened to you?” The girl’s voice gave him a start, once again figuratively, and he looked at her, beginning to get annoyed. Maybe he should just drain her dry and totally ignore the fact that she hadn’t screamed when she saw him and had helped him up. Yeah. Good idea, he thought. Except that he could barely walk. She’d have to be a willing party before he could go ahead and suck her blood. But he doubted anyone in his or her right mind would even entertain the faintest thought of this idea.
“Here, drink my blood.” Mirae offered her neck.
Taewoo probably would have fallen head over heels, but considered the fact that he would have fallen out of the window if he had done so. “W-what?”
“Suck my blood,” the girl repeated, actually brushing her hair away from her neck. Okay… perhaps he hadn’t heard wrong.
“Why?” It sounded like the stupidest thing ever, but Taewoo didn’t care. He wanted to know.
“Because,” the girl said stubbornly, and Taewoo looked at her feet and noticed she was wearing bunny slippers. He’d been right. “I can tell you’re really weak, and I don’t want to kill you. This is the only way you’re going to be able to go before the sun comes up.”
Taewoo had to admit it made sense… from his point of view anyway. But why would the girl agree? “Why do you care if I die or not?” he asked apathetically, staring down at her. He was a good few inches taller than her he noticed, though a reason why that was important even in a semi-important way cleverly escaped him.
“Because I don’t like killing things, not even vampires.”
“A vampire had killed one of your loved ones?” Taewoo guessed, reading between the lines of her statement.
The girl nodded slowly. “My grandparents.”
“Uh-huh…. But that doesn’t explain much. You could have just push me out of the window or leave me alone and you wouldn’t have to kill me,” Taewoo pointed that out, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. For a moment, the korean girl didn’t seem to have a retort for that.
“Because I would still feel bad. Just drink my blood okay?” the girl insisted, moving still closer to him. Her eyes were glaring at him, and Taewoo was a bit taken aback. Then he shrugged. Well, he wasn’t one to turn down someone who so passionately wanted him to suck her blood, as weird as it seemed.
He obligingly turned and sank his fangs into her skin, and his eyes closed in pleasure. The girl’s blood flooded his mouth, delicious and sweet, and Taewoo drank it undulgingly, savouring each mouthful.
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Chapter Six
(Jackie’s POINT OF VIEW)
I opened the door and shut it quietly behind me, locking it so Seiji couldn’t get in. I then made sure the windows on either side of the door were shut and locked.
I chuckled to myself as I removed my weapons and flung then on Mirae’s leather armchair. Then I headed up the stairs to Mirae’s room to tell her what I had just done so she could come and watch Seiji’s face when he realised he’d been locked out.
I craned my head into Mirae’s room, but she wasn’t there. Hhmm… where could she be? I thought. I walked down the hallway, past Seiji’s room at the end of the hall, knowing she wouldn’t be in there. Then I turned around at the window and detoured. Was she even at home? Suddenly, I noticed that my door was ajar. I guessed Mirae could be in there. Perhaps she was tidying up my room. How nice of her. Granted, the girl had never done that before… But hey, there’s always a first time for everything, isn’t it? I was still thinking how I was going to thank her, when I entered the room and froze immediately at what I was seeing.
My jaws dropped, and I gaped until my mouth could hide a dinosaur. For inside my room, right next to the window, my dearest Mirae was standing with some guy whom I had never seen in my entire life. But I felt I really should have because he was kissing her! But more accurately, he was kissing her neck. I felt distinctly betrayed, like a wave on the ocean, like a knife stabbed in my back. I’ve always liked Mirae. Yes,even though I’ve never told her before. But now, here she was, letting a strange guy kiss her! Someone whom I had never even seen before! Absolutely atrocious! Did he come every night while Seiji and I were out hunting for… for…
My thoughts were broken suddenly as I saw Mirae collapsed on the floor. The guy did nothing to stop her from falling, and I saw to my horror, a coat of blood on his tongue while he licked it across his lips. Vampire!!! I quickly fumbled for my gun. “Shit!” I yelled in disbelief. My gun, along with the rest of my weapons were downstairs. Argh!`
“SENSEI~! SENSEI~!” I yelled at the top of my voice for Seiji until my lungs ran completely out of air. I only gave up when I realised I’d just locked Seiji out.
The vampire stepped toward the window, and I could only watch helplessly as he slid smoothly over the window pane. There’s nothing I could do to stop him, other than going at him with my bare knuckles. If I were to do that, I’d surely be bitten by him in seconds.
The vampire paused just as he was about to jump out the window, and glanced back inside the room as if he’d forgotten something. I was sure he was going to grab Mirae and take her. My mind raced to think of a way to stop him, but the vampire simply said, “Please thank the girl on my behalf. Thanks.”
And with that he was gone. Poomph!
Seiji appeared in my room mere seconds after the vampire was gone. “What happened, Jackie?”
“There was a vampire in here,” I said. Then I turned and picked Mirae up.
“Oh no…” Seiji breathed, seeing Mirae lying unconscious in my arms. “Why didn’t you do something?” the Japanese hunter demanded.
My eyes grew angry, as I held Mirae tightly in my arms. “My stuff was downstairs. Did you want me to attack it with my bare fists? With Mirae right there? He probably would have killed her!” Tears raged down my face like a waterfall. “I didn’t want her to die okay? I didn’t want to die too!”
Seiji laid his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jackie. I’ll take back my words. Let’s just put her in her room for now. She’s still alive.”
I looked down at the korean girl in my arms. Seiji was right. Mirae was still breathing. I carried the girl into her room, which was between Seiji’s and mine. Then I laid her carefully on her bed, like a baby on its cradle.
She looked awfully pale. Although that was from the loss of blood she’d sustained, I felt an overwhelming hatred well up in the vampire. He was definitely a lowly scumbag, one that ambushed a girl in her own house and would have killed her if I hadn’t arrived in time.
“Jackie, calm down,” Seiji said. “Don’t get caught up in it,” Then I turned and left the room, leaving me standing by Mirae’s bed with my fists clenched.
“Don’t get caught up in it.” No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t let my emotions get the better of me. Because if I did, that would mean I’d charge out there and get myself killed. My fists trembled, then it loosened. My relaxed hands were dotted with beads of sweat. Actually I was rather scared when I first saw the vampire with Mirae. I was so afraid it would kill her and I wouldn’t be able to do anything but get myself killed instead. Would I have done it though? If the vampire had intended to kill Mirae, would I have leapt forward to stop him, or would I have just stood there and watched, with no guts to do anything?
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Chapter Seven
The sun was rising from the horizon at Jeju Strait, kissing the sky from midnight blue to gentle red. Taewoo would have loved to watch it rise, but it would kill him if he did. That being so, he was flying home as fast as he could.
Taewoo was thinking about the girl who had saved his life… What were the hunters doing in her house? he thought. Had they known in advance that he was there? If so… how? He didn’t think they had spotted him, so they couldn’t have followed him. Perhaps they had seen Hyunsuk, followed him, saw Taewoo dart into the window and decided to go after him instead. Maybe. It was certainly possible.
Taewoo flew into his window just as the sun began to scorch mercilessly on his back, fleeing as fast as he could to escape it. There was no way he could have gotten someone in time if it hadn’t been for that girl. He owed her his life.
He shape-shifted and closed the curtains, and began replacing the wooden planks on the window that he’d torn off before he left. He didn’t have any nails to pin them against the window, so he had to sort of prop them up and drape a blanket over them. Doing this was getting to be a pain; he should probably go out a different window next time. Or maybe a door. Suddenly, an idea struck him.
Figuring Eunwoo would have already gone to sleep, Taewoo flopped on his bed in the dark, and closed his eyes. Not two seconds later however, his door opened and Taewoo opened one eye to see Eunwoo standing in the doorway, looking rather annoyed.
“Didn’t I tell you to report to me as soon as you got home?” he said like a stern father, and Taewoo sat up straight.
“I thought you’ve already gone to sleep,” Taewoo explained. He took off his cloak and hung it on his clothes-rack. “The hunters are pretty strong though. They easily recognised Yujin as a vampire from a distance.”
“Kae ga chugeosseo?” Eunwoo asked if Yujin was dead.
Taewoo nodded absently. To be honest, he didn’t really care that she was. She annoyed him. Like a tick would annoy a dog. Except he wasn’t a dog. A sigh blew past his lips, and he looked up to see Eunwoo still watching him. “Muol?!” What?
Eunwoo was silent for a moment, his cold black eyes watching him as if they were looking for something, but he didn’t say anything for a moment. “Good,” he said at last, so quietly Taewoo barely heard it. “We’ll be able to move on, now we know their strength. What else happened?”
Taewoo’s eyes darkened, and he knew Eunwoo saw it. “Hyunsuk.” Eunwoo paused, and there was a long moment of silence before he nodded.
“Krae,” said Eunwoo, which was another way of saying “okay”. Anyway, Taewoo knew without Eunwoo having to spell it out that his elder brother knew why he was late. But he didn’t know about the human girl, and Taewoo would rather leave it as that.
Eunwoo’s mindful eyes studied the many rips and tears in Taewoo’s cloak, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Hhmm…. “How is it you’re still alive?” Taewoo froze. But… he hadn’t said anything! “Taewoo?” The tone of his voice made it clear that if he hadn’t known before, he most certainly did now. He seemed almost amused though.
“I went into a house to hide from Hyunsuk,” Taewoo began, “and a girl helped me. That’s all.”
“Hhmm…” Eunwoo was silent for a moment. “Chal haesseo,” he said finally, that his brother did well.
When Taewoo looked up, his brother was gone. He couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief. He hadn’t really wanted Eunwoo to know, but it looked as if it didn’t matter. Now, he should just forget about it. He’d probably end up killing the girl anyway.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lee Hayeon darted in a window just as the sun began to take a peek over the top of the buildings. The “Regiment” vampire was panting for breath, but glad she’d made it home in time. She had been so afraid Taewoo the “Guerrilla” vampire would see and recognise her, so she’d hidden and waited until he was gone before she left herself. And as a result she’d barely escaped being burned to death by the sun too.
Hayeon shuddered. What a horrible way to die… As if to protect herself from such a death, Hayeon pulled the heavy curtains closed, effectively blocking out any and all sunlight that would come.
“Hayeon, what are you doing back so late?”
Hayeon’s head snapped up to see her Abeoji (her father), Lee Sunghyeok, standing in the doorway of her room. “Um… I…I was just…” she found herself stuttering, nervous as she always was. “Um… I was just, held up.”
“How so?” Sunghyeok demanded, opal-white eyes regarding his daughter evenly.
“I um… I was hiding,” Hayeon said at last, knowing all too well that her father wouldn’t like that.
“From who?”
“Shin Taewoo, the Guerrilla Vampire.”
Sunghyeok watched her for a moment, than frowned. “There’s something else. What is it?”
Hayeon looked up. She honestly didn’t know what he was talking about. Had she seen anything worth telling him? There had been those drunk people again, but they were always out, that was nothing new… there had been seeing Taewoo, passing Hyunsuk on the streets… Had there been anything else? There had to be, her father said there had been something…
“Oh,” Hayeon made a small noise of realisation when she remembered why she had been hiding in the first place. Taewoo was seeking refuge in Mirae’s house. Hayeon had also heard the words which Taewoo had spoken as he’d left, to someone Hayeon hadn’t been able to see. Please thank the girl on my behalf.
“Um… well… Shin Taewoo was in the house of a girl I’ve seen before, and she let him drink her blood. I… I think he’d been in a fight o-or something you see, because he was very um… hurt. He was telling someone to thank the girl on his behalf, because he was leaving…”
“He told you this?”
“N-no… somebody in the room. I… I didn’t see who it was though, I’m sorry.” She fidgeted nervously, and at the same time tried to keep herself from doing so. Would he be angry that she had hid? But there was no possible way she could have taken on a guerrilla vampire. Hyunsuk could do it without getting killed, but not her. She had been afraid just seeing him across the street, she wouldn’t be able to see him face to face with any courage at all.
There was a loud crash downstairs, and Sunghyeok whirled. “Who….” He disappeared from the doorway, and Hayeon peeked out to watch. When Sunghyeok reached the stairs however, Hayeon immediately knew who it was that had come in so noisily.
“Hyunsuk-ah, Oedi gassuh?” (Hyunsuk, where have you been?) Sunghyeok’s tone didn’t carry the same rigid tone it did with his own daughter.
Hayeon couldn’t help, but shed a little tear. Why couldn’t her father treat her the same way as he did with Hyunsuk? He hardly ever let her go out, and when he did he gave her a strict curfew, but Hyunsuk was free to come and go as he pleased no matter what the time. Her younger sister, Hanna had been killed just a few days ago, assumably by one of the “Guerrillas”, and her death served as a reminder to Sunghyeok -one that now served little purpose- not to allow his children to go out alone. Despite that though, Hyunsuk was still allowed out whenever he pleased. Sunghyeok was never harsh with him, never commented when he returned a day after he’d gone, but with her… it was always different. She wiped the tears away and tried to listen, watching the stairs that lead to the kitchen.
“I was following Shin Taewoo,” came Hyunsuk’s short reply.
“Really…” Hayeon knew that in his mind he was reviewing her story as well, coming to the conclusion that she might have been lying. But he could always tell when she lied, and she hadn’t been! Was Hyunsuk lying? But… why would he? He didn’t have a reason to, he could simply give the real reason he was so late and Sunghyeok would accept it without question. Maybe it was because he was a boy, so Sunghyeok thought he could trust him with more. Hayeon definitely wasn’t the strongest vampire around, and would rather avoid a fight altogether no matter who it was she was fighting, even a Guerrilla. Especially a Guerrilla. The two brothers, Eunwoo and Taewoo, had killed so many enemies but Hayeon, Hyunsuk, and Sunghyeok over the past few years, she knew their strength all too well.
Plus, she was so shy… her father probably saw that as a weakness, just as Hyunsuk did….
“Did you fight him?” If Hyunsuk said no, who else could it have been? Hayeon let out a sigh of relief though when Hyunsuk’s answer supported her story. Even if she hadn’t been lying, Sunghyeok would be more inclined to believe Hyunsuk then her….
“Briefly. He escaped though, and I spent most of the rest of the night looking for him.” Hayeon heard Hyunsuk replace the curtain that went over the door he’d crashed through earlier, probably knocking over the small table that stood near it as well. He’d come home nearly as the sun came up Hayeon realized, and cut it rather close.
“Very well.” Hayeon knew that she was safe when Hyunsuk came up the stairs. Hayeon watched him from her doorway as he approached, fidgeting. Their identical opal-hued eyes met for a split second, but Hayeon quickly averted her gaze. Hyunsuk snorted gently, and Hayeon knew he was mocking her. It made her blush in embarrassment, which only made Hyunsuk disgust for her show more, but she couldn’t help it. Just like she couldn’t help that she was a vampire, even though she didn’t want to be…
Hyunsuk passed her, and Hayeon’s eyes widened in shock, a sharp gasp accompanying the motion. The back of Hyunsuk’s shirt was scorched, and the skin horribly blistered; evidence that he hadn’t gotten back quite in time to beat the sun. And he acted like it was nothing.
He kept walking despite her reaction, and Hayeon realised that he was doing it on purpose, showing her the injury as if to scorn her further. ‘Look at this, you would be crying if this happened to you’, he seemed to say, and Hayeon quickly shut her door, the image of his scorched flesh floating in her vision even after she closed her eyes.
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Chapter Eight
(Jackie’s POINT OF VIEW)
“What are you doing here?” Mirae sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking at me in a dizzy manner.
“Mirae-yah! Nuh Eeruhnassuh!” I was so overjoyed about her being awake, I hugged her tightly like a soft giant teddy bear.
“Jackie, you’re…” she muttered, as if in a despair for breath, “…crushing my organs.”
“Oh! Mee-ahn-hae! Sorry!” I released the squeeze.
“Kwenchanayo,” she assured me she was fine, and sat up straight. “I feel really dirty.”
I winked at her. “Well, that’s probably because you’ve been lying on the bed for two straight days.” I said matter-of-factly.
“Two days? Eeks!” Mirae jumped out of bed and grabbed a set of fresh clothes, before rushing for the shower room. She nearly tripped on her way there. I was glad Mirae was finally awake. At first I was worried she’d wake up feeling traumatised by the memory of that vampire. It turned out though, that the experience hadn’t changed her much, since one of the first things Mirae belted out was a comment about feeling dirty.
I’d be perfectly willing to talk if Mirae wanted to. Not that I had any idea what to say, but it would be more along the lines of I would be there for her if she needed someone to talk to.
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Chapter Nine
Mirae flipped the switch on, waved the roaring blow-dryer at her hair and tilted her head to the side. Her hair was dripping water down her blouse, but at least now she felt clean. She really hadn’t expected to be in bed for two whole days anytime in her life; even when she was sick she always got up to get some food and a glass of orange juice. But now she knew what an excessive loss of blood could do to her.
What had happened to that vampire anyway? Had he gotten away safely, before the sun had risen? And what had Jackie and Seiji thought when they found her unconscious? They might have simply thought she’d fainted, and hadn’t suspected the vampire at all. It was really Mirae who brought it upon herself, and it wasn’t the vampire’s fault. The girl had voluntarily offered her blood to him.
She was actually kind of glad she’d let the vampire take her blood though. She’d known how weak he’d been, especially when he could barely walk to the window. She felt sorry for him. She would have felt even worse if she’d pushed him out the window as he’d suggested. Although he was a vampire, a living dead, he was still alive in a sense.
She remembered the first day she’d gone vampire hunting with Seiji and Jackie, and the feeling she’d gotten when she’d sunk in five round, shining silver bullets in a vampire’s head. It blew apart like a watermelon fallen from great heights.
Mirae remembered Jackie’s cheers and Seiji’s smile, and knew that she should have been happy too. A sick satisfaction that enjoyed killing it, a creature just like the one that had slaughtered her grandparents. But… it wasn’t a good thing. After all, if her grandparents had died in a car crash instead, would she have killed the car they were in, or the driver that ran into them? It wouldn’t change anything. Revenge doesn’t solve anything, and it just begets more hatred. The one vampire that had killed her grandparents was forgotten in that week of focus, that week of wanting to wipe out it’s entire race, and she realised a week after the killing of that first vampire that she didn’t want to do it anymore.
Now, the memory of that vampire’s head blowing apart like a watermelon was a bad thing, and no longer evoked the satisfaction it once had.
So maybe by saving that vampire last- no, two nights ago, she had been trying to redeem herself. Or perhaps she just didn’t want to feel partly responsible for his death, which was just as bad as blowing up that vampire’s head. Like shattered pieces of a watermelon.
After all, she wouldn’t really lose anything if he didn’t kill her, other than two days out of her life and a nice smell.
Mirae turned off the blow-dryer and surveyed herself in the mirror for a moment. Same hair, same face, same large forehead she was so self-conscious of… and two new tiny puncture wounds in her neck. But those would go away in a few days, and she would be just the same as always. Except… she would have a little happy memory inside her for saving that vampire.
Mirae smiled and combed her fingers through hair one last time, and dropped her dirty clothes in her laundry basket - she would take it to the laundrymat tonight since it was just about full. Mirae could smell that someone was cooking. Must be Jackie, she thought. So the korean girl headed downstairs before the chinese guy devoured it all himself.
She was pleasantly surprised when she found that Jackie had already made her share of homemade Jjajang Myeon. She took off the lid and took a sniff. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was. Well, she had been in bed for two days, not eating, so it made sense that she would be starved out of her mind now that she was awake. “Komawoyo, Jackie-ssi,” she thanked Jackie, before she sat down and dug in.
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Chapter Ten
(Jackie’s POINT OF VIEW)
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked. Mirae picked some noodles with her steel chopsticks before nodding.
“Nae, keokjeong mayo,” she told me yes, and not to worry.
“Oh.” I fell silent for a few moment. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
Mirae nodded again slowly as she chewed.
“Oh.” I scratched the back of my neck, then shoveled some noodles into my mouth. “That’s okay then. I mean, ‘cause if you weren’t okay I could help. If you wanted to talk or something.”
“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you. Where did you find me?”
I paused, strands of noodles dangling from my lips. I slurped them in. What did she mean by that? Had the vampire taken her somewhere else before he sucked her blood? Had… had he done something to her? “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well,” Mirae looked intently at me. “Where was I when you came home?”
“In my room,” I replied. “Mirae… did that vampire do anything to you? Did he take you somewhere else before he sucked your blood?”
Mirae blinked confusedly. “No. I just want to know if you knew there was a vampire there at all or if you’d thought I fainted. But since… wait, you said you saw him?”
I nodded. Was I not supposed to know? A sudden thought hit me, and my eyes widened. Maybe she’d been meeting him secretly or something! “Have you seen him before?” I demanded, leaning across the table.
“Of course not. Are you crazy?”
“Are you sure?” I pressed.
“Yes,” she stood firm in her stand, beginning to grow annoyed. “What did you do?”
“What did I do when I saw him? Well, I stood there trying to decide if I should take him down with my bare hands or go get my weapons, and he kinda…” I made an odd falling motion with his hands, “dropped you and left.”
“Keugae tayo?” Mirae inquired if that was all, her eyes narrowing.
“Uh…” I paused, then decided not to tell her what the vampire had said. “Yeah.”
Mirae stared at me for a few more seconds, then looked down at her food. “Now I want to eat my Jjajang Myeon,” she declared, then proceeded to gulp down the rest of the noodles as I watched. Well fine, if she was going to be that way… fine. I wolfed the rest of my noodles in one gulp, and went up the stairs to my room. The room badly needed a thorough cleaning.
“Hey, Jackie!” Mirae called from below the staircase.
“What?” I turned my head and looked down.
“Where’s Master Seiji?”
“He went grocery shopping,” I said. “What is it?”
“I just wanted to know what’s been going on since two days ago,” Mirae explained.
“We haven’t even been out vampire hunting since two days ago, because we were worried about you.”
“You… you did?”
“Dangyeon haji! Of course!” I said proudly, smiling at her. Then I peered out the window and noticed someone approaching. “Hey Mirae, here comes Master Seiji!”
“Jackie, what happened to the window over there?” Mirae asked, spotting the broken wood planks across the window on the left side.
“Master Seiji broke it,” I told her, and Mirae gave me an odd look, one that clearly said she didn’t quite believe me.
“Master Seiji broke a window? Why?”
“Hey, why don’t you ever ask me why I break things? Why do you assume it’s always an accident?” I demanded.
“Because it always is,” Mirae said, as if it was a matter-of-fact.
“But why do you assume Master Seiji had a reason for breaking the window, huh? Why didn’t you assume he did accidentally? Why didn’t he kick it or something like that?”
“Because he broke it to get in when you locked him out,” said Seiji, as he opened the door.
“What are you talking about Master Seiji?”
Seiji set the four brown paper bags he was carrying on the table, and began pulling out the contents. Mirae hurried over to help, and together they sorted through and put away the groceries.
“That’s what happened,” Seiji replied, snatching the bread I had taken out a bag away and handing it to Mirae.
“Hmph.” I grabbed a carton of milk from the bag, and Seiji pulled that out of his hands too. He also liberated a block of cheese, carrots, another loaf of bread, strawberries, and ice cream from my grasp.
“Thanks for helping, Mirae,” Seiji told her, and she smiled.
“No problem, Master Seiji.”
“How are you by the way?” Seiji had been observing her ever since he got home, and she honestly didn’t seem any worse other than those two tiny puncture wounds from the vampire’s fangs, and those would heal in a few days.
“I’m fine,” she told him cheerfully, and Seiji had to believe it.
“We’ll stay home tonight though anyway,” he announced. “And Jackie,” he fixed me with a gaze that instantly let me know I had done something wrong. “When we go hunting next time shut and lock your windows.”
“I will, you can even check them before we leave,” I challenged, and Seiji told me that he would. Of course, a locked window wouldn’t keep out a determined vampire, it would just keep out the… less determined ones.
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Chapter Eleven
Hayeon stood outside the door of her father’s room, silently debating whether or not she should go in and ask. She wanted to go out again tonight, but since she had gone just a few nights ago, she wasn’t at all sure he would allow her to go. She was also listening to the voices. She could barely hear them, but they were there. Hyunsuk and her father were talking, discussing something, though she didn’t know what. It wasn’t any of her business, as much as she wanted it to be, and so she had to leave lest her father emerge and catch her standing there, listening to his conversation. He wouldn’t like that at all.
But she listened.
“The girl may be nothing at all to him,” Sunghyeok was saying, “but if she’s anything to him we’ll have better luck than we’ve been having.”
“I’ll do it tonight then,” Hyunsuk said.
Hayeon remembered the burns on his back and wondered if her father knew about them. He would probably think it was foolish of Hyunsuk to be caught in the sun, but that would be it, no comment, no question, no speech. He probably didn’t know though, and Hayeon wasn’t about to tell him. If she did, Hyunsuk would be angry, and if he already knew, Sunghyeok would be annoyed with her for telling him something he already knew. It would be better for her if she kept her mouth shut.
“You’ll need Hayeon to show you the house,” Sunghyeok pointed out, as if he found the idea repulsive.
“Yes,” Hyunsuk didn’t sound quite so repulsed, but that was probably because he was better at hiding things. “I’ll take her with me than, and she can lure anyone off that sees. She might have neighbours that care about her after all.”
“Very well. Go get her now. Quite likely she’s asleep now. Knock her out first if possible.”
“Nae, Samchon.” (“Yes, uncle.”) Hyunsuk paused, then spoke again. “If they don’t care we’ve abducted her, what will we do with the girl?”
“Kill her.”
Hayeon heard footsteps and quickly scurried back to her room, making the least amount of noise possible. She didn’t know if Hyunsuk or her father saw her go, but she tried to look like she was doing something when her father opened her door, seating herself in front of the window and fixing her eyes on the dark horizon.
“Hayeon, I want you to go with Hyunsuk tonight.” He didn’t give her any specifics, and Hayeon didn’t ask. She knew he expected her to do what she was told without questioning his motive, so she did.
“N-now?”
“Yes. Hyunsuk will tell you what you need to know.” He turned and left, and Hyunsuk appeared in his place.
“Come on,” he ordered, and she slid from her chair to trail after him to the front door.
“Um… H-how is your… your back?” Hayeon asked quietly, shrinking back when Hyunsuk fixed her with an opal-eyed stare.
“Fine,” he said evenly, even though she knew it couldn’t have healed completely in the few days since he’d gotten the injury. He hadn’t been out in those three days though, and Hayeon suspected it must have hurt a lot, despite his apparent indifference.
He opened the door then, stopping her from making any other inquiries after his health that she wouldn’t have asked anyway, and flew away as soon as the door was open far enough. Hayeon stepped outside to close it, then was forced to hurry after him, because he wasn’t waiting for her. He headed toward the inner city, but after minute or so he was forced to slow down until he was about even with Hayeon. He wouldn’t be able to find his way to the house without her aid, but neither would he put himself completely under her direction. He was too arrogant to let it look like he was following orders from anyone, especially his weak female cousin...
Hayeon was forced to make her best guess on turns at times, unsure of exactly where the house was. Last night had been the first time she’d visited it, and since it hadn’t seemed important at the time, she didn’t fix it in her mind. She sensed that Hyunsuk knew, but he said nothing.
Hayeon suddenly recognised the house and realised with a flush of embarrassment that they had passed over it once before, but since she’d been viewing it from a different angle she hadn’t recognised it. They landed on the same building Hayeon had hidden atop just the other night, and Hayeon pointed out the window the girl had been in the other night.
“What does Father want with her, Hyunsuk-oppa?” Hayeon asked quietly.
“As a hostage,” Hyunsuk replied, his white eyes scanning the building, checking for inhabitants. “He wants to use her to get back at the Guerrillas.”
“B-but… she’s a living human, isn’t she? Why would… why would they care, that is?” Hayeon blushed when Hyunsuk shot her a look, one that displayed his disgust clearly.
“You, of all people, should know. You said she let him drink her blood, didn’t you? That means she must be related to him somehow. He might have visited her before, use your head! Nobody in his or her right mind would willingly offer blood to a vampire!”
Hayeon ducked her head at this, fidgeting nervously. “I-I’m sorry…”
Hyunsuk gave a snort of disgust and turned again toward the house. “When I go in,” he said at last, speaking clearly so she wouldn’t miss anything, “wait here. If there’s trouble, or if a neighbour sees, I want you to draw their attention from me and the girl. Don’t just sit here and watch.”
With those harsh parting words he dived from the building and landed lightly on the fire exit a storey below the window Hayeon had indicated. He reached up and slid it carefully open, Hayeon watching with wide eyes.
There was a shriek of laughter down the street, and Hayeon jumped and looked to the right. A group of teenagers was moving slowly down the street, empty and half-empty soju bottles in their hands; the drunken group Hayeon often passed on Friday nights.
She looked back to the house, knowing she was supposed to keep watch for Hyunsuk, but found he’d already gone in. Would he want to know about the people?
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Hyunsuk slipped inside the house silently, leaving the window cracked open a bit. His nose wrinkled in disgust. This room was a mess. Tidbit wrappings, clothing littered the floor, books and papers strewn around carelessly as if the owner hadn’t cleaned in weeks.
Hyunsuk realised something else too, the person sleeping in the bed was a boy, and not the young female he’d been sent to get. Hyunsuk’s eyes narrowed, and he carefully slipped back outside. Hayeon had been wrong it seemed.
He leaped back off the fire exit to where Hayeon was sitting, making her squeak in surprise. She was watching a group of people moving toward her, and Hyunsuk dismissed them at a glance. Drunks.
“Your information is wrong,” he informed her harshly, and Hayeon looked up, her opal-hued eyes wide with confusion.
“What? W-what do you mean?”
“I mean that’s the wrong window!” Hyunsuk snapped, and Hayeon looked across the street, then shook her head. That was the right window, she was positive! She remembered the fire exit, and the red and yellow garbage cans across the street.
“But… I know that’s the right one,” Hayeon protested. “D-did y-you um… look in any of the other rooms? Maybe… that one wasn’t hers?”
Hyunsuk was silent for a moment, thinking. Well, he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to check again. But she had people living with her… that might present a problem. He slipped back inside, once again leaving the window cracked, and tip-toed to the next room. The door was ajar. Hyunsuk simply pushed it open to take a glance inside.
This room was much neater, and clearly belonged to a girl. There were a few pictures on the dressing table, and Hyunsuk looked at them as he passed. A silver-haired Japanese man, a Chinese youth… and quite possibly the girl he’d been sent to abduct. Hayeon had been right. Hyunsuk came up to the bed side silently, long years of practice and natural stealth keeping his movements secret, in order to confirm the identity of the sleeping girl.
A wash of triumph swept through him when he saw the vampire fang marks on her neck, and he smiled. Now… how to get her away without waking her friend in the next room… Hyunsuk carefully stretched out his palm and hit the girl over the head like a Karate chop, hoping this would be enough to knock her out.
An instant later the girl sat bolt upright in bed, her hands flying to the lump she was surely sporting due to Hyunsuk’s blow. She woke up to pain and a dark figure standing over her with a drawn sword, and did what any self-respecting girl would do. She screamed.
Hyunsuk cursed and hit her again, and her eyes rolled like a jackpot machine as she fell back into the mound of blankets she’d been sleeping in. He quickly sheathed his sword and threw the girl over his shoulder, already hearing movement in the rooms on either side.
“What happened?” a male voice called, probably the boy in the room to the left.
Hyunsuk didn’t bother opening the window -that would take too much time, and he couldn’t afford to waste any. Instead, he rammed against it with his shoulder to be rewarded with the splintering of glass, and did it again to break it. The window was now a gaping toothed hole, and Hyunsuk climbed onto the pane, heedless of the jagged shards he was stepping on. A line of blood appeared down the girl’s arm where he scraped her against the glass still clinging to the window frame, but he didn’t care. His mission was to get the girl back to his mansion without anyone following him, and if those in the adjoining rooms got up fast enough, he might need to use Hayeon after all.
Hyunsuk cast a glance to the door and prepared to jump, but froze when two people threw themselves into the room. Great, that meant he had to kill them. Or he could just leave. Opting for the second option -one that didn’t require him putting the girl down and picking her up again- he was about to jump when Jackie started to speak.
“What are you doing here with Mirae?” Jackie demanded angrily, and Hyunsuk paused. Wasn’t he the brave one…
Hyunsuk almost sighed. “I’m abducting her, got a problem with that?”
“Sure as hell, I’ve got a problem with that!” Jackie shouted, stepping forward. Hyunsuk wouldn’t have stepped away even if he could; instead, he turned to face the Singaporean youth, smiling so his fangs were clearly in evidence.
“Tsk tsk. Too bad.”
Seiji gripped a silver gun loaded with silver bullets behind his back, ready to pull the trigger any time. The vampire was using Mirae as a shield it seemed, because not much of him was visible, and Seiji didn’t want to risk shooting her on accident. However, shooting her would probably be a more favourable option than allowing her to be taken out of the window by a vampire. Why did he want her though? She was nothing special… Wait. What if they wanted to use her as a hostage to lure them somewhere and then kill them? Hunters were despised by vampires everywhere. Understandably so since hunters killed them, it would make sense. However, that was the more reason for not allowing this vampire to take her.
Hyunsuk paused, not wanting to risk a glance over his shoulder to see if Hayeon was there. He had to assume she was. Well then, time to say sayonara… Hyunsuk’s opal-coloured eyes flicked between the two guys, and then he jumped backward and fell freely into the air. He couldn’t shape-shift and carry the girl at the same time, and he landed on the ground two stories below as if it were two feet instead. Being a vampire definitely had its advantages.
Three gunshots echoed even as he landed, and Hyunsuk marveled for an instant at the speed. Where had they gotten a gun anyway? Normal law-abiding citizens in Jeju did not carry guns with them, even if they did hear a prowler. They were more likely to carry baseball bats, and baseball bats did not imitate gunshot noises.
Hyunsuk gathered the girl in his arms and took off running down the street, listening to Hayeon scramble down the side of the building. She never liked jumping from them, even though she could land easily.
“Hyunsuk-oppa, d-do you want me to-”
“Distract them away,” he ordered, and she turned back. If they had guns in their house, they were probably willing to follow him. That had absolutely no logic whatsoever to it, but it worked in his mind. They should be willing to protect a friend, so logic dictated they should follow, gun or baseball bat-wielding or not.
Seiji leapt over the banister and snatched up his vest and another gun, then threw open the door to run after the vampire. Jackie was trailing right behind him.
Just as the two hunters rounded the corner, they bumped into a group of people going the opposite direction. “Sorry!” Jackie called out as they scrambled to their feet. The people didn’t seem to hear Jackie’s words though.
Jackie and Seiji knew as soon as they reached the end of the next street that they had no chance of finding Hyunsuk again. They couldn’t see him anywhere, and Jeju city was big, with a dozens of different turns he could have taken. But they had to look.
Hayeon watched the hunters for a few more minutes from the top of a building, just to see if she needed to lure them away, but it seemed that they didn’t know where Hyunsuk had gone. The group of drunken youths had come in handy.
Hayeon morphed into a bat and flew away into the night sky, leaving the hunters to wander about the city looking for their friend. Hayeon couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mirae as she made her way home, scanning the streets for Hyunsuk at the same time. If she got home before Hyunsuk did, not only would it make it seem as if she’d left him and therefore anger her father, Hyunsuk would be annoyed too. And they would kill the girl if she meant nothing to Taewoo.
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Seiji had to carry Jackie home the next morning.
They had stayed out all night, nearly until dawn,looking for Mirae before Seiji had insisted they go home, but they had seen neither hide nor hair of the vampire that had taken her. In fact, they hadn’t seen any vampires last night once they’d left the house. Seiji found it very discouraging, but not half as much as Jackie did. The Singaporean hadn’t wanted to come home at all, but Seiji made him. The youth had fiercely protested, but Seiji had simply picked him up over his shoulder and bore him home, like old Santa Claus lugging a sack of christmas presents.
Jackie slumped in Mirae’s armchair and stared out the window when they got home, strangely quiet. He’d vowed just a few days ago that he would die to protect those he cared for, but he hadn’t been able to save her. He’d run at the vampire when he’d jumped, just before Seiji shot at the creature, but he’d been too slow. The vampire had gotten away, and who knew what he was doing with Mirae now?
Seiji looked at Jackie from the table and sighed. “It’s not over yet,” he said, and Jackie looked up.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, but his voice sounded tired, discouraged.
“Even if we can’t find her simply by looking, there are other ways of tracking vampires.”
“Like how?” Jackie asked, his curiosity piqued. If there was a way to find her he was ready to go right now.
“Well…” Seiji paused, then flashed a wide smile.
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Chapter Twelve
(Jackie’s POINT OF VIEW)
You mean ask a vampire for help in finding another vampire?” I asked incredulously.
Seiji shrugged. “It’s a way to get things done,” he pointed out, reminding me exactly why we were doing this. Mirae is abducted, and this was one way to save her…
I glared at him for a moment longer, angry we had to stoop so low as to ask our prey for help to rescue Mirae. Why couldn’t we do it on our own? I asked myself. Seiji got up from the table and put his cup in the sink, then after a moment’s pause washed it. Mirae normally did the dishes, but since she was being kidnapped, we’d have to do our own chores, of course!
“If we look for her on our own, chances are they might have already killed her,” Seiji said, as if he had read my thoughts. “I’m sure these vampires have a good reason for capturing her.”
“Fine, if it’ll help us rescue Mirae. Hey!” I sat bolted upright in the armchair, a thought suddenly occurring to me. “If you’re so against vampires, why are you willing to go to them for help?” I whirled in the chair only to find that Seiji had already left as I was speaking.
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Chapter Thirteen
Mirae groaned, and with what seemed a massive effort, opened her eyes. She didn’t immediately recognise where she was. There was a wall in front of her, painted plain white, and… that was about it. She still didn’t recognise the place. Shifting her gaze upward she saw the edge of a bed, and she realised she couldn’t possibly be in her room.
She tried to sit up, but found that her hands and feet were tied to together so she couldn’t move. Why… what had happened? She honestly didn’t remember. She’d been sleeping, then… something… Why couldn’t she remember? And why did her head hurt so much?
There was a sound of footsteps, then the cranking sound of a door being opened. “Oh… y-you’re awake.” Mirae didn’t recognise the voice, nor could she see the person who was talking, though she could tell it was a girl. “I’ll go get Hyunsuk-oppa, wait here…” The door shut, and footsteps hurried away.
She heard distant voices, but when she tried to hear better by lifting the ear that was pressed against the floor into the air, a sharp flash of pain coursed through her head and she gasped, quickly putting her head down again.
When you’re tied up, the first thing to do is escape, Mirae thought.
Alright Mirae, let’s see what you’ve got. Wriggling her fingers, she found that the ropes she was tied with were very tightly secured. Great. Mirae scowled at the plain white wall, and suddenly realised how dark it was. Was it night still? Granted, she had been sleeping up until a little while ago…
“I-I’m sorry!” The girl that had come into Mirae’s room had apparently done something bad. Mirae was trying to figure out what it was when the door opened and the girl came in again. “O-oh… here, let me help,” the girl said, and Mirae could feel the ropes around her wrists loosening, then falling away.
“Komawoyo,” she said thanks, rubbing her wrists. Mirae sat up carefully, resisting the waves of pain that shot through her head when she did so. The ropes had left blue-black bruises that stung terribly, but at least they hadn’t rubbed her skin away. She then turned toward the girl who had freed her. She was, of course, Hayeon.
Hayeon was wearing a thick white jacket that zipped up with clasps all down the front, and deep black hair with a dash of purple, but what immediately jumped out at Mirae were the girl’s eyes. They were opal-white and lacking pupils altogether, giving the frightening impression that she had no eyes at all.
“Are… are you blind?” Mirae asked carefully, not wanting to offend the girl who had helped her.
Hayeon shook her head. “No.”
“You’re not?” Mirae stared at the opal-hued orbs curiously, wondering if the girl was lying. Blind people were often self-conscious about being blind, or at least Mirae assumed they would be, so maybe she really was.
There was a long pause of silence, and then Hayeon looked up. “A-aren’t you… afraid of me?” Mirae blinked up at her.
“Oh!” She said suddenly, her eyes widening. That’s right! She had woken up in a place she didn’t know. Strangely enough, she had forgotten all about that when the Hayeon had entered. Maybe that was a side effect from being knocked out. Had she been knocked out? “Where am I anyway?”
“Erm…” Hayeon tapped her fingers together nervously. Hyunsuk had warned her not to tell the girl anything. Even though she couldn’t escape… well, it was better not to say anything. “Hyunsuk-oppa told me not to tell…”
“Who’s Hyunsuk-oppa?”
“My cousin,” Hayeon replied, sitting on the edge of her bed, opal eyes watching Mirae with interest. “Oh… You’re… you’re very pretty.”
Obviously flattered, Mirae gave Hayeon a smile, which she returned hesitantly.
“What’s your name?” Mirae asked suddenly. A glance at the window had shown her a boarded-up rectangle, and her curiosity was piqued regarding the girl. Who was she, and why was she in this house Mirae had woken up in? “My name is Han Mirae.” She extended her arm to offer a handshake.
“Lee Hayeon,” the female vampire replied, accepting Mirae’s hand.
“Ow…” Mirae moaned, opting to simply lay her head on the cool wood floorboards. “Why do I feel like I’ve been hit over the head by a truck?” she wondered aloud, and Hayeon giggled.
“Well… Hyunsuk had to knock you out to bring you here,” Hayeon said, and Mirae sat up.
There was a pause of silence. “You’re a vampire right?”
Hayeon flinched, and nodded slowly. “Yes… By the way, aren’t you hungry?” Hayeon asked, and Mirae glanced down at her stomach growling like a beating drum.
“Looks like yes,” she replied cheerfully, and Hayeon giggled again.
“I-I’ll go get you some food then,” she said, getting to her feet.
“Chamkanmanyo!” Mirae told Hayeon to wait a moment, a thought suddenly occurring to her. “You’re a vampire right?” It was a rhetorical question, but Hayeon nodded slowly anyway. “You don’t expect me to eat… blood, do you?”
Hayeon shook her head quickly. “No, Father told me get some food yesterday. I um… don’t know what tastes good though, so I’m sorry if I didn’t get what you like.”
“That’s alright, food’s better than no food,” Mirae replied optimistically, and Hayeon nodded, then left.
Mirae sat on the floor for a moment after the door closed, then carefully rose to her feet. The pounding in her head was subsiding, and now that she could think without the heartbeat pain, she realised that Hayeon certainly didn’t seem like the type to lock a door after she left. And if she had been captured by vampires -no matter how shy Hayeon was- that couldn’t be good. So she was going to escape. The window of course, was not an option at the moment, since it was nailed with what looked like nine-inch nails, if the size of the head was anything to go by. So why not try the door?
Mirae walked slowly for both pain and noise prevention -she was on wooden floorboards after all, and wooden floorboards squeaked- and carefully turned the doorknob. She was afraid it would turn all the way and turn out to be locked, but it worked! Mirae opened it an inch, and peeked out into a long hallway. Empty.
This was too good to be true! Mirae opened the door slowly; just enough to allow her slender body to get through, and step into the hallway and freedom!
Well, maybe not.
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Mirae froze when she saw the black-haired vampire standing just outside the door, and gave a sheepish wave and smile.
“Annyung haseyo,” Mirae greeted him politely, but the vampire didn’t reply. Mirae noticed that his eyes were the same as Hayeon’s, and putting two and two together, she realised this must be Hyunsuk.
“Go back into the room,” he ordered. Mirae did so meekly, though inside she was fuming. There was no way she could have gotten past that vampire, she realised, but still…
Hyunsuk watched as the girl returned to the room, and he shut and locked the door securely. Hayeon had forgotten to lock it, maybe he should tell Sunghyeok about this…
“Oh… Hyunsuk-oppa, what are you doing?” Hayeon’s voice made him look up, and he fixed her with an icy stare that made her gulp and look away.
“You didn’t lock the door,” he told her harshly, and Hayeon looked up sharply.
“I-I didn’t? B-but I thought I d-did…”
“Obviously not, since she had come into the hallway when I walked by.” Hyunsuk glared at her for a few more seconds, then turned and walked away.
When Hyunsuk was gone, Hayeon set the tray of food she’d brought for Mirae on the floor and unlocked the door. She then picked it up again and went in.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Mirae said slowly, “why did your family kidnap me? What am I worth to them?”
Hayeon was silent for a long time. Her father had specifically ordered her not to tell Mirae anything, but she was so nice… If Mirae promised not to tell, perhaps there wasn’t much of a harm ato reveal a thing or two. “Will you promise not to tell my father or Hyunsuk-oppa if I told you?”
“Son-karak-kuhl-go, yaksok-haeyo,” Mirae said in Korean, which meant “By hooking our pinky fingers, I promise you”.
“O-okay,” Hayeon said, smiling shyly. “They kidnapped you, because they want to get back at one of the “Guerrilla” vampires.”
“Huh?” Mirae looked at Hayeon blankly. How could anyone have thought she would be important to any vampire since she was living with two vampire hunters and had once been one herself? That didn’t make any sense.
“I don’t get it. I’ve never met any “Guerrilla” vampire, or any member of your coven up until now, so how could I be a prisoner of a coven I’ve never heard of against another coven I’ve never heard of?” she objected hotly, and Hayeon tapped her fingers together nervously.
“B-but, I s-saw you the other night with one of the “Guerrillas”… Y-you mean you’ve never, ever met one before?” Mirae shook her head, and then paused.
It suddenly struck Mirae that if Hayeon had seen her with a vampire not too long ago, then the vampire whom she’d helped must be the one she was talking about. After all, she’d never really spoken to a vampire before, other than him.
“Shin Taewoo,” said Hayeon. “Don’t you know him? He’s the younger of two brothers in the “Guerrilla” coven.”
“Brothers?” Mirae began picking grapes off the section of vine and popping them into her mouth. Hayeon nodded. “How old are they?”
“Eunwoo, the older one, is twenty-two, and Taewoo, the younger one, is seventeen,” Hayeon replied after a moment of thought. “They both are very powerful,” she continued. “I… wouldn’t want to meet either of them in a fight. Hyunsuk can fight Taewoo without getting killed, but I don’t think even my father could challenge Eunwoo and live.”
“He’s that strong?” Mirae asked, slicing open a roll of kimbab before taking a bit.
Kimbab is a popular Korean "fast" food, similar to sushi, made from rice (bab) and sheets of dried seaweed (kim), and various other ingredients. Kimbab is a traditional food eaten by Koreans during picnic or special outdoor events. It is generally served cold.
Hayeon nodded. “Yes, he’s quite powerful.”
“Wow… I live with two hunters, and one of them’s really strong,” said Mirae. “Do you think they might be able to kill this Eunwoo guy?”
“You l-live with hunters?” Hayeon echoed, her opal eyes widening. Mirae nodded, like it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t to her after all, Jackie and Seiji were just people, she’d known them forever. “Oh… I-I didn’t know that… I don’t think that Hyunsuk or my father did either…”
“Let me get something straight though,” Mirae said, swallowing. “Your coven captured me to use as a hostage against the “Guerrilla” vampire coven, because you saw me with the younger one? Taewoo right?”
Hayeon nodded. “Right. But you… said you’d never seen either of the “Guerrillas”… is that right?”
Mirae started to nod, and then paused. “Well, I’m not exactly sure. I might have seen the younger one, Taewoo a few nights ago. I was going up to my room when I heard a noise in the other room, and I went in to check it out. There was a vampire, and he was almost dead, so I offered to let him drink my blood.”
“Really?” Hayeon was shocked. “But… why?”
“I guess, I just didn’t want him to die,” Mirae told Hayeon with a shrug. “It’s… kind of hard to explain.” She ate the rest of the roll thoughtfully, but at last she said slowly, “What’s your coven going to do with me when the “Guerrillas” don’t come to save me?”
Hayeon looked away. “Well… um… t-they’re… um…” A knot began forming in Mirae’s stomach, and she dropped the rest of her kimbab on the tray, suddenly not feeling very hungry. Vampires didn’t normally keep prisoners, especially human ones, so if they were just using her in a conflict…
“They’re going to… kill me, aren’t they?”
Hayeon nodded miserably.
“Hyunsuk, I want you go to and meet Shin Eunwoo now.” Sunghyeok’s voice drew Mirae’s thought away from being killed for the moment, and Hayeon looked up. They could hear Sunghyeok talking with Hyunsuk, and Mirae crept to the door and carefully pressed her ear to the wood.
“Now?” Hyunsuk asked.
“Yes. I do not want that girl in my house any longer than necessary, and I would like to find out if she is indeed worth anything to the “Guerrillas”. If she isn’t, I would ask you to kill her tonight. Do not give them the location of the building unless they consent to meet us there,” Sunghyeok instructed.
“Will we bring the girl?” Hyunsuk asked. There was a pause of silence while Sunghyeok contemplated.
“Yes. Go now please.”
Footsteps were heard, and then Mirae’s door opened and a man stepped in. “Hayeon, bring the girl and follow me.” With that order, he left, and Hayeon and Mirae exchanged glances.
“We should do as he says,” Hayeon said quietly, standing. Mirae gave her an encouraging smile. Hayeon would have to help, but if she could escape…
A sharp pain shot through her neck, and she fell to the floor, Sunghyeok standing behind her. He’d knocked her out with a simple twitch of his fingers, without any effort at all. Mirae hadn’t even known he had been behind her. Hayeon gasped, and her father’s gaze moved to her. As he observed her calculatingly, her fingers came up to touch her lips, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Bring the girl and follow me,” he repeated, as if to make sure Hayeon heard him the second time since she obviously hadn’t the first, then turned and left.
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The haunting melody of Eunwoo’s flute drifted through the house to where Taewoo lay on his bed, eyes closed and half-asleep, even though it was night.
Knock-knock-knock.
Taewoo opened one eye and waited, but the flute music did not stop, meaning Eunwoo wasn’t going to get the door. Taewoo sighed and rolled off his bed, heading down the flight of stairs to answer it. Who would be coming to their house at all, much less so late? The motel was obscured from the rest of Jeju city, as was Sunghyeok’s house. Both houses were rumoured to the people to be haunted, roamed by ghost and monsters. Well, Taewoo reflected wryly, it wasn’t all too far from the truth. Eunwoo’s flute paused, and for the moment it was quiet.
Taewoo eased the door, and was quite to surprised at the individual he found standing on the porch.
“I want to speak with your brother,” Hyunsuk snapped, and Taewoo’s eyes narrowed.
“And I’m supposed to fetch him for you, am I?” Taewoo asked coldly. Hyunsuk blinked.
“There’s no need to, Taewoo.” Eunwoo’s voice came from behind, but Taewoo didn’t bother looking. “What do you want, Hyunsuk?” Eunwoo demanded coolly, his crimson eyes regarding Hyunsuk as Taewoo moved to one side.
“I’ve been sent with a message,” Hyunsuk replied, and the brothers waited in silence. Hyunsuk paused, then continued. “We have captured a certain girl we think you’ll be interested in. She tells us her name is Mirae, and we know she had voluntarily given blood to Taewoo just a few nights ago.”
Eunwoo blinked. He remembered, a few nights ago, that Taewoo had told him of a girl who had offered him her blood to save him. Obviously, that happening had been seen, maybe even by Hyunsuk. He had been the one Taewoo had been fighting after all… But no, it would not be in Hyunsuk’s nature to sit by when Taewoo was in such a weakened position, it had to have been another.
Nevertheless, Taewoo surely felt some degree of gratitude toward the girl, perhaps even enough to merit saving her. Hm… there would be no harm in getting the location at least.
“I assume you’ll provide us with the location you’re holding her at?” Eunwoo asked, blood-red eyes watching the opal-eyed man, an unreadable expression in them.
“You’re interested then,” Hyunsuk smirked. “I guess Hayeon was right. Try the old warehouse along the street of Seogwangno.” He began to turn away, then paused. “Remember, she’s worth nothing to us.” He melted fluidly into the darkness, and Eunwoo looked down at his brother.
“Care to explain?”
Taewoo was silent for a moment. Why would they think the girl meant anything to him? True, the girl’d saved him… And from this, they assumed he actually knew her? He hadn’t even known her name before now! “Mirae, huh?” he said under his breath.
“The warehouse at Seogwangno,” Eunwoo repeated. “I assume you would like to take her from them?”
Taewoo shrugged. “She saved me, I can’t leave her in the lurch.” He cast a crooked smile at his brother. “Besides, even if they set an ambush, which I’m sure they will, we’ll get the chance to kill a couple of them.”
“Hhmm…” Eunwoo stayed silent for a moment, and Taewoo waited, sensing there was something his brother wanted to say. “Has it occurred to you Taewoo, that they may not even have the girl at all?”
Taewoo shook his head slowly. “Sang-gwan uhb-suhyo.” (“It doesn’t matter.”)
Eunwoo sighed gently, casting a glance up at the shimmering stars far above, shrouded in the thin clouds drifting slowly by. “Come then, we’d best get moving.”
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Hyunsuk arrived at the warehouse and approached Sunghyeok, who managed to convey with a single look that he wanted to know what had occurred. Hyunsuk obliged with a simple statement, one that made Sunghyeok almost smile.
“They’re coming.”
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Chapter Thirteen
The warehouse was silent, but Taewoo knew they were there. Silence wasn’t enough to mask the fact that something had been dragged along the ground. It must have been the girl. Mirae, the girl who had saved his life.
No, he couldn’t help but feel obliged to help her. A life for a life, because as Hyunsuk had said, she meant nothing to them, and if they didn’t come, they would kill her.
It shouldn’t have meant so much to him, and he couldn’t quite understand it, but for the moment, he put it out of his mind. Hyunsuk was waiting, and he undoubtedly wanted to kill Taewoo as much as Taewoo wanted to kill him. Immortal enemies they were. ‘Till death do us part. Taewoo almost laughed.
“They went in through here,” Eunwoo said suddenly, and Taewoo saw that indeed, the girl had been dragged through the west entrance they were standing by.
“Let’s go then,” Taewoo said, and they continued in, twin crimson eyes searching the darkness. It was even darker inside the building. Boxes of various sizes were stacked inside, forming a veritable maze that made Taewoo roll his eyes.
“How much do you bet they set this up?” he asked Eunwoo quietly, but his older brother didn’t answer.
“Be quiet,” he replied, and Taewoo blinked. “They’re here, and you yourself said there would be an ambush. I don’t doubt it.”
Taewoo nodded, and rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Neither do I.”
The darkness was complete, all the windows being boarded or blocked by boxes. After a few minutes Eunwoo looked up. “This is pointless,” he sighed, and in an instant was flitting above Taewoo’s head, a silky black bat with a hint of gray. Taewoo smirked, and followed his example. What better way to search through darkness than in the body of an animal meant to do so?
High-pitched squeaks showed him the way above the maze of boxes, and Taewoo searched for a human form amid all the squares, unaware he was being closely watched by a pair of opal eyes.
Hyunsuk watched Taewoo carefully, not wanting to lose him in the darkness. It proved inevitable however, as Taewoo was black, and it was dark. His eyes were not heat-seeking after all, only all-seeing, and he cursed quietly, turning and heading back toward the girl and Hayeon. Hayeon wouldn’t be able to stand against either of the two brothers; she would probably stand aside and let them have the girl, so it was better if he stood near the area while Sunghyeok waited in ambush.
Their ‘ambush’ was actually quite simple. There was (it almost pained Hyunsuk to admit it) a net, that would be dropped from the doorway onto the one who walked under it. Simple, but hopefully effective. If it didn’t work, the two brothers would probably get the girl and then escape, leaving them back into square one.
A vague curiosity bubbled up in Hyunsuk as he walked silently back to Hayeon. Where had Taewoo met the girl, and why? Vampires hardly make a habit of associating themselves with the living people, unless it’s for their blood.
It was… rather unthinkable that Taewoo would fraternise with a non-vampire. A thought suddenly occurred to Hyunsuk, and his opal eyes widened. Maybe… he planned on converting her into a vampire? Hyunsuk smirked. Oh well… it didn’t really matter either way, since whether the two brothers were defeated or not, the girl would still be killed. The only way for her to actually escape her fate would be for the two brothers to get past him and rescue her. And that wasn’t going to happen.
Hyunsuk froze, then sighed. Well, he jinxed himself with that. Now, it was inevitable. Fate had had her say, and Hyunsuk wasn’t pleased.
His head snapped up when he heard a noise to his right, and he looked through the boxes, through the darkness, and managed to make out the shape of a human… with black hair that stuck up in the back. Hyunsuk smirked. Perhaps Fate had changed her mind…
He stole through the darkness on silent catwalk, and pressed himself lightly against the pile of boxes just behind Taewoo, careful not to make them fall. If they did, Taewoo would be alerted to his presence, and surprise would lose its advantage. Hyunsuk carefully drew his sword without the slightest noise, and with two quick turns, brought it slashing down toward Taewoo’s neck.
Clang!
Taewoo whirled, crimson eyes widening. Eunwoo stood just behind him, his slim sword unsheathed and engaged with the sword of Hyunsuk. “Wha- Eunwoo…”
“Surprised?” A smile twitched Eunwoo lips briefly, and Hyunsuk took a step back, warily eyeing both brothers. “Go on,” Eunwoo said calmly to his brother, and Taewoo nodded.
“Thanks, brother.”
“Go, I don’t have time for your small talk,” Eunwoo snapped, and Taewoo turned and left, the darkness swallowing him up. Hyunsuk didn’t remove his eyes from Eunwoo, knowing the elder was his main enemy, and that he couldn’t get around him to go after Taewoo. Hyunsuk’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t have much of a chance against Eunwoo though. But of course, that was no way to go into a fight, thinking one was going to lose. He smirked. “Come on, Eunwoo. Protecting your brother is very noble, but you’re facing me now.”
“Yes…” Eunwoo said calmly, not particularly intimidated by Hyunsuk’s confident facade, and both stepped away briefly, their swords meeting in an exciting rendezvous.
Taewoo listened to the repertoire of metallic sounds, a smirk on his lips. Hyunsuk had no chance against his brother. He was very strong yes, nearly as strong as Taewoo himself, but Eunwoo wasn’t even in his league. If Hyunsuk was the only one guarding the girl, then the way was clear.
He stalked the alleyways of the warehouse in silence, crimson eyes scanning the darkness even though he could barely see a thing. The boxes were piled high on all sides, and they were beginning to annoy Taewoo. What was in them anyway? Sudden curiosity having struck, Taewoo found himself unable to resist prodding one of the boxes and flipping open the lid. His eyes widened, and he stared at the contents with his mouth slightly open.
“No way…”
Inside the box lay five very shiny, very new, and very dangerous-looking guns. Removing a single bullet, he pressed it between two fingers, yelping and dropping it when it burned. Taewoo grinned, and watched the shining bullet trace a vague circle pattern on the floor. Silver.
“No way.”
He quickly grabbed the guns and shoved them in his pockets and anywhere else they would fit and not fall from, and checked a few other boxes. To his disappointment that seemed to be the only box of them, and he palmed two of those he’d picked up.
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, he thought. If Hyunsuk got his hands on one of these, Eunwoo wouldn’t have a chance no matter how strong he is. I can use them though, Taewoo reflected.
He set off down the alleys of boxes with a smirk on his lips. With five guns, all loaded with silver bullets, he was more or less unstoppable. Yes, if Taewoo had been the type to do so, he would have giggled and danced a small jig.
A noise on the left brought one of the guns up on instinct, and his eyes searched the darkness, only to narrow when he caught a rather fat rat scurry across the floor, some kind of white cloth trailing from its mouth. Taewoo turned, and paused when he heard a shuffle of movement that was much too clumsy to be made by a rat.
Padding around a pile of boxes, he eased his head around the corner, and upon seeing nothing down that aisle, moving to the next. Whispered voices were holding a hurried conversation, but Taewoo couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. Nonetheless… it sounded feminine, both voices, and it suddenly struck Taewoo that Lee Sunghyeok had a daughter, Lee Hayeon? He couldn’t recall it at the moment, but he did remember she was a very shy thing, and had been quite unwilling to confront him the first time they had come face-to-face. If she was the one guarding the girl, it would be real easy to defeat her.
“You’re saying we should just wait here?” said a female voice.
Taewoo paused. That voice had been a bit louder than the other, and Taewoo had actually been able to make out what had been said. The voice sounded familiar though, and if he had to hazard a guess he would say that was Mirae.
“Nugu shijyo?” Taewoo asked. (“Who is it?”)
More murmuring reached Taewoo’s ears, then a quick ‘hush!’, and Taewoo knew he had been found. It’s Hayeon then. It had to be her, since there’s no way they could have known he was here without looking through the boxes themselves. And that’s precisely what their eyes allow them to do…
Shuffling movement, more whispers Taewoo assumed to be the girls hushing each other, and he padded toward them silently. It really didn’t matter how quiet he was though, if he could be seen. Something had occurred to him though, as he was walking along, slowly, following the girls’ voices and movements. Mirae didn’t sound very scared.
Is it possible, Taewoo wondered, that they didn’t really capture her? But no… why would they have called on us like they did if they didn’t have real bait to offer? Taewoo smirked, a thought suddenly occurring to him, one that was entirely possible. Maybe they bonded.
Movement and voices stopped for a moment, with only the occasional metallic sounds of fighting swords. Taewoo paused with it, ears straining for any hint of sound outside the fight.
Suddenly someone started running, and Taewoo followed, tearing around a corner only to almost run into the girl, Hayeon. He, remembering her timid side, made to simply dodge her and keep going, but she threw herself in his path. Taewoo’s eyes flashed, he could hear Mirae getting further away, and if he didn’t hurry she would be caught by Sunghyeok, or Hyunsuk, and then she’d be right back where she started. In the hands of the “Regiments”. But why wasn’t Hayeon going after her?
“Get out of my way,” Taewoo ordered, and Hayeon stepped back.
“N-n-no…” she managed at last, and slowly drew a knife from a pouch at her leg. She adjusted in in her grip, and held it firmly in one hand. “I-I-I’m g-going to fight you.”
Taewoo met her gaze squarely, then morphed into a bat and flew over her head to land running on the other side.
Hayeon gasped and whirled, then cast a glance backwards as if wondering if she should stay, than ran after Taewoo and Mirae ahead of him.
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Eunwoo easily avoided a blow Hyunsuk swung at him, dodging around a stack of blacks and snapping around it again half a second later. Hyunsuk hastily threw up his sword. He knew he was losing. Eunwoo was way too good to be beaten by him, and Hyunsuk was way too good to allow himself to be beaten by him. But he was still going to lose, it was inevitable.
Eunwoo leaped atop a pile of boxes, and Hyunsuk did the same, carefully keeping his balance as he leaped after Eunwoo, his sword glinting slightly in the moonlight from the window less than five yards away.
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Mirae gasped when a strange man suddenly appeared around a pile of boxes, and she quickly changed directions. He grabbed her arm though, and when he spoke, Mirae realised who this was.
“Hayeon hasn’t been keeping watch I see,” he said, eyes darting behind Mirae.
Hayeon’s father, Lee Sunghyeok. She’d never really seen him before, but she knew the voice well enough.
“Let go of me!” Mirae ordered, eyes glittering fiercely and attempting various kicks and punches that he blocked. He had a bit of trouble doing so though, Mirae noted with a certain degree of satisfaction. Sunghyeok merely turned and began dragging her back the way she’d come, apparently intending to return her to Hayeon’s care. Strange, since she hadn’t kept her the first time. Granted she had actually let her go, but still…
A flash of movement overhead, and Mirae caught a glimpse of something red, then Hyunsuk tore around the corner, the sword in his hand and giving off the distinct impression that he was chasing someone.
Wisely deciding not to interfere, Sunghyeok simply continued to drag Mirae onward. She struggled bitterly, knowing that if she could only get free and out of this place, chances were good that she could hide until morning, then go home to be with Jackie and Seiji, vampire hunters. “Let… go!” Mirae head-butted Sunghyeok, and his eyes widened slightly, but other than that he made no indication that he was not in fact, made out of steel and therefore impervious to any attack she might make.
He actually felt like he might be made out of steel, if the renewed pounding in her head was anything to go by. Wow, head-butting someone hours after you get knocked out still wasn’t a good idea. Not that ever was of course…
“Taewoo! Left!” A voice called out suddenly, and Sunghyeok’s gaze snapped toward the sky as if expecting it to come crashing down on his head. In that moment however, something flashed around the corner and the next thing Mirae knew, Sunghyeok was sprawled on the floor and a distinctly familiar male vampire had grabbed her wrist and was leading her away.
Mirae gasped as the vampire glanced at her, catching sight of his crimson eyes. “Hey-”
“No time,” he snapped. “Do you want to get out of here or not?”
Mirae nodded quickly, and Taewoo led her through the boxes as if he knew the way by heart. “How do you know the way so well?” Mirae questioned as she turned yet another corner, and Taewoo suddenly paused.
“Hang on…” A moment passed, and Taewoo had apparently decided it was safe again, as he ushered Mirae forward. Something landed lightly behind Mirae, and she whirled, a sharp gasp escaping her lips. Taewoo’s hand clapped across her mouth, perhaps thinking she would scream, and her eyes widened as she watched the black-haired vampire that had just landed behind her come closer. His eyes were crimson, like Taewoo’s were, but she felt a lot less safe in the presence of this one.
“Jumpy isn’t she, Taewoo?” Eunwoo said calmly, glancing at the younger vampire across from Mirae.
“Enough,” Taewoo replied shortly.
Mirae cast him an indignant glance. She wasn’t that jumpy!
“Hyunsuk?” Taewoo asked, and Eunwoo blinked.
“No, he’s hiding at the moment. We should go quickly; Sunghyeok wasn’t your best work.”
“I know that,” Taewoo snapped, and the other vampire smirked. Taewoo turned and continued leading Mirae through the boxes, Eunwoo following behind Mirae, much to her disconcert. She kept casting glances back at the older vampire, whose blood-coloured eyes scanned the darkness, to all appearances ignoring her completely.
“A moment,” Eunwoo said suddenly, stepping in front of Taewoo. Both he and Mirae stopped moving, and there was quiet but for the hurried rush of footsteps not far away. Mirae ducked behind Taewoo, quite aware that he hadn’t let go of her arm yet. Did he think she would run? A few seconds went by and the footsteps paused, and then hurried away.
“Hm…” Eunwoo nodded, and they kept moving.
Mirae was feeling quite lost amid the boxes, but her eyes widened when she heard a shout not far away. The two vampires didn’t pause, but Taewoo grinned.
“Great.”
“There’s the door!” Mirae said excitedly, pointing at the door that had suddenly appeared around the column of boxes they’d just rounded. They sprinted to it, the vampire’s cloaks flapping gently behind them. Eunwoo’s slender fingers closed around the handle, jerking it down, and crimson eyes narrowed as he turned.
“They’ve locked it.”
“The window,” Taewoo said a moment later, and Eunwoo leaped to the top of the boxes as he spoke, reaching out to try the slider that kept the windows open or shut. It wouldn’t move.
Mirae could have sworn she heard footsteps on the other side of the crates of goods. “Bballi, bballi!” she called Eunwoo to hurry, who paused as if to restrain himself from killing her.
“Be quiet,” he ordered, and smashed the window with a fist. He didn’t seem to care that blood seeped from the wounds the glass inflicted, and brushed a few stray pieces away with as much concern as if it had been sand.
Taewoo lifted her onto the boxes, and by then Eunwoo had already slid out the broken window to land outside. Mirae hesitated at the long drop, and Taewoo pushed her gently.
“Keunyang, ka!” Taewoo urged Mirae to just go. “He’ll catch you if don’t leave now!”
Mirae nodded, closed her eyes, and jumped from the window. The cool night air combed through her hair for an instant before strong hands caught her, and almost as soon as they did so, dropped her to the ground. Taewoo landed easily just behind her, and Eunwoo nodded slightly.
They’d all escaped, with Mirae being alive, and for that the girl was grateful.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter Fourteen
Mirae couldn’t help but let out a gasp when the two brothers’ “house” came into view. She and the two brothers hadn’t exchanged many words on the way there, but she assumed this was where they lived. “Is that where you live?” she asked breathlessly, staring up at the motel, and the windows that looked back.
Taewoo and Eunwoo exchanged glances, and Mirae got the feeling she was being laughed at. Tearing her eyes away from the motel before her, she looked at each of them in turn. They were very much alike, both black hair, black eyes now that they had faded from red, and both with almost cat-like features. Both brothers’ eyes were blank, hiding just about everything from her.
She looked back toward the motel as they reached the porch, and Eunwoo opened the door to admit them. Mirae was surprised. They didn’t lock their doors? Well, Mirae realised, they don’t have any reason to be afraid of burglars. I’ve heard the stories about this place, she thought. Ghosts and monsters that eat whoever goes in. I guess it’s true in a sense, she thought, a faint smile coming across her face as she watched the brothers disappear into the motel. Mirae followed.
It was dark inside, all the windows boarded up and covered with drapes or curtains, and Mirae blinked a few times when a light came on, unused to the light after so long in darkness. Neither Taewoo nor Eunwoo seemed affected, but she didn’t notice as she’d spotted something in the kitchen.
A refrigerator!
She was rather hungry now, having eaten almost nothing since she’d been kidnapped, aside from the roll of kimbab and a few grapes that Hayeon had brought her. She rushed over, and ripped the door open, a happy smile on her face. Her face fell.
“Hey! Where’s your food?” she demanded, and Taewoo shrugged.
“We’re vampires, remember?” he pointed out, and Mirae glared at him.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t have food! If you were going to rescue me from Hyunsuk and them, couldn’t you at least have the decency to get something edible?”
“There are rats in the basement,” Eunwoo said suddenly, completely apathetically, and Mirae blinked.
Taewoo snorted.
“Uh Muh! No way am I eating rats! Cheolddae Andwae!” she squealed, then stuck her head back in the refrigerator and sighed. She noticed something in the corner, and leaned in for a closer look, only to screech and slam the door shut.
“T-there’s something dead in your refrigerator,” she told Taewoo, who raised an eyebrow.
“So?”
Mirae gaped for a moment, and then stomped over to him. “There is something dead in your refrigerator,” she repeated, slowly, carefully enunciating each syllable.
Taewoo looked her straight in the eye and repeated himself. “So. What.” Slowly.
Eunwoo had gone upstairs, and Mirae flopped on a couch sitting pointlessly in the middle of the living room. “What’s your brother’s name anyway?” She asked, and Taewoo blinked. How had she figured that out? Whatever...
“Eunwoo.”
“And you’re Taewoo.” Mirae clarified. Taewoo looked up, then nodded. There was a moment of silence. “Your couch smells weird,” she informed Taewoo, who sighed and ignored her.
Maybe she’ll be more of a pain than I’d anticipated, he thought darkly, casting a glance to the girl now curled up on the self-claimed ‘weird-smelling’ couch.
Taewoo watched Mirae lie on the couch for a few minutes, then turned and walked upstairs to his room. He wanted to take a closer look at the guns he’d picked up at the warehouse, and now seemed like a perfect time to do it. Eunwoo was off somewhere, probably in his own room, and Mirae was on the couch. Taewoo sighed. She wouldn’t be able to leave until tomorrow, since if she left now, Hyunsuk and company might get her again. It would be kind of old to use the same hostage again, especially when Taewoo and Eunwoo had proven once they were perfectly capable of getting past them to save her, but that didn’t mean they’d be twice lucky.
“How was Mirae feeling while she was being abducted by Hyunsuk?” Taewoo wondered. “I guess she wasn’t afraid at all. Perhaps I’m right, and she and Hayeon had bonded. Hayeon didn’t seem like the type of girl who would be alright with bargaining with someone’s life…,” Taewoo wondered.
Taewoo entered his room and shut the door, pulling the guns from his pockets as he did so. They were all identical he saw, as he laid them out on his floor, with dark wooden grips, brass frames, and dark metal, maybe iron, barrels. Taewoo opened one and removed the bullets, dropping them quickly to the floor when they burned him.
There were a couple of screws, and some sort of tube that Taewoo wasn’t sure what its purpose was. He turned it over a few times, examining it, but couldn’t see its use. It really didn’t seem to have one. There was a rotating barrel for the bullets Taewoo had removed, but it looked like they would simply shoot out when he pulled the trigger, after cocking it of course. That was what the little pull-thing on the back was for.
Taewoo blinked, and then lay the gun down. Although he was a guerrilla leader fifty years ago during the “Jeju Massacre”, they hardly used such ammunitions. At that time, he merely used swords, knives, molotov cocktails, and what not. He really had no clue how this gun worked, but if it shot and killed, that was good enough for him. He cast a glance at the sword at his waist, and removed it and stood it against the wall. That was more his kind of weapon, although it would be neat to use a gun. Just… bam, and they’re dead. Taewoo grinned. He couldn’t wait to try it out. After turning it once more in his hands and discovering a small number engraved on the metal, and a brand of some sort on the handle, he replaced the bullets with some difficulty and lay them all out on his dresser.
His door creeked open, and he turned to see Eunwoo standing there, looking at his little brother, and the guns. “Where did you find those?”
“The warehouse,” Taewoo replied. “In one of the boxes.”
Eunwoo came over and picked one up, looking it over just as Taewoo had. He slid out the barrel, and glanced at the bullets. “Silver?” he asked, and Taewoo nodded. A smirk slipped across his face, and he picked up another one of the guns. “These could be useful…” he said quietly. “Would you mind if I took these two?” he asked thoughtfully, though his eyes didn’t say anything about what he was thinking. Taewoo had gotten used to it; Eunwoo would tell him when he needed to know.
“Sure.” Might as well, since he was going to give Eunwoo at least one of them anyway.
Eunwoo nodded, and left, leaving Taewoo alone. “Eunwoo,” Taewoo said suddenly, a thought coming to mind, and his brother paused.
“What is it?”
“Hyunsuk and company. What are we going to do about them?”
Eunwoo paused for a moment, as if thinking on what to say. “The same thing we were going to do little brother.” His cloak whipped gently around the corner, decorated with glowing red clouds, and he was gone.
Taewoo’s eyes narrowed as he thought. The same thing, huh? When would they set the plan in action then? Mirae’s capture and rescue had thrown a bit of a wrench in things, but only a single night was lost, so they could stil do it tonight if they wanted… But, they should probably wait until at least tomorrow, just to get everything in place. They would need to find out what the hunter’s schedule was too, if they went out every night, twice a week, every other day, or just whenever they felt like it.
That could be a problem, Taewoo realised. He lay back on his bed, and closed his eyes. Tonight had been rather eventful, and he felt like taking another nap.
“Hey Taewoo?”
Taewoo raised his head, to see that Mirae was standing in his doorway. He made a small questioning noise in his throat, meant to get her to say what she wanted to say and then leave.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going home now.”
Now? Was she insane? Not only were Hyunsuk and company still out there somewhere, maybe even looking for their former hostage, there were other vampires, other hungry vampires, that would be all too happy to feed on a nice defenseless female like her. It wasn’t that Taewoo didn’t want her to go or anything, it wasn’t like he’d expected her to stay, but to set off for home alone?
“I’ll escort you,” Taewoo told her suddenly, in a tone that brooked no arguing.
Mirae’s eyes widened a bit in surprise but she nodded. Taewoo palmed one of the guns from his dresser, and followed Mirae out.
“Do you want to tell Eunwoo you’re going?” Mirae asked, and Taewoo shook his head.
“No.”
The look on her face clearly said she wanted to add something, but she seemed to think better of it, and closed her mouth. The house was quiet, their footsteps the only noise, and to Taewoo it was calming. Mirae on the other side, was a bit afraid.
Her eyes darted from side to side, and when she accidentally bumped into Taewoo while edging closer to him, she apologised, but didn’t step away. The door allowed their exit with a soft creek, and Mirae breathed a sigh of relief. The whole place reminded her of something out of a horror film, and she could just imagine some horrible kwaemul leaping out from behind a corner and dragging her screaming to her doom.
“How do you live in that house?” she asked with a shudder and backward glance. The windows stared back as blank eyes, and the long grass around the building only intensified the horror-film setting. Taewoo shrugged slightly, a noncommittal gesture. It was just a house, which was originally a deserted motel.
They walked through the city, toward Mirae’s house. The streets of Samdo-2-dong were lit by streetlamps, barking dogs in the distance, but they themselves were silent. Taewoo’s hands were shoved in his pockets, and Mirae kept glancing at him as they walked, as if waiting for him to say something. If that was so, she was truly disappointed. An excited scream burst from a house they passed, and Mirae’s head snapped that way, but Taewoo didn’t react, as if he’d been expecting the noise.
A long awkward pause of silence ensued.
Mirae fiddled with the edge of her shirt, staring at her shoes, and sighed. She glanced at Taewoo again, and his eyes met hers. They looked at each other for a moment. “What?” Taewoo asked, and Mirae shook her head.
“K-nyang,” she replied quickly, saying it was nothing important. After about fifteen minutes they were nearly at Mirae’s house, and she found she wanted to walk around some more. Sometime during the trip the silence had gone from awkward to comfortable, and she no longer kept glancing Taewoo’s way just to see if he was going to say anything. The doorway loomed into sight however, and Mirae kept walking slower and slower, until Taewoo had stopped altogether and turned to watch her inching toward him along the sidewalk. “Hurry up,” he snapped, and Mirae stopped altogether.
“Sorry!” she said with the cutest smile she could muster. They were now less than two steps from the doormat, and Mirae glanced at the door.
“Hey Master Seiji! Do you think this would be okay?” Jackie’s loud voice came through the door. “I think I might like this better, but I’m not sure! Could you come and see?”
Wha… Taewoo blinked a few times. “Who’s that?”
“Oh, that’s just Jackie,” Mirae answered quickly. “He’s a loud, annoying, obnoxious guy from Singapore.”
“Singapore?”
“Yes, Singapore,” said Mirae. “It’s an island just like Jeju, at the southern tip of Malaysia, and the north of Indonesia.”
“Malaysia? Indonesia?” Taewoo looked even more confused.
“Oh, never mind,” said Mirae. “Forget what I’ve just said.”
Taewoo gave a puzzled look, then turned away from the door, from behind which he could have sworn he’d heard a gasp.
“Annyung,” he waved Mirae goodbye, and the girl took a step back.
“Chamkanman,” Taewoo asked Mirae to wait a moment.
The door swung open, and Jackie stood in the doorway, a grin on his face as he ran over to hug Mirae. Then he saw Taewoo, and froze. Jackie’s grin faded and his hand slid into his pocket. There was a glint of metal, and Taewoo flung himself out of the way, dragging Mirae with him.
Bang-bang-bang!! Bang-bang-bang !!
Mirae found herself shoved up against a wall, Taewoo’s face inches from hers. Her heart stopped for an instant, though whether from their close proximity or the sudden gunshots she wasn’t sure. While she may have enjoyed this in another situation, his eyes were crimson, and not directed at her.
“You said you lived here?” Taewoo hissed, eyes flicking to hers for a brief moment. Mirae didn’t answer, and he pressed her hard against the brick behind her. “Stay here,” he ordered, and flung himself away form the way, heading, undoubtedly, toward Jackie.
Mirae stayed where she was, her back pressed against the brick. The patterned stone made small rough marks through her shirt on her skin, and her eyes were wide. The sounds of Jackie and Taewoo fighting reached her ears, metal on metal, and the occasional gunshot, and still she did not move. Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment. She couldn’t let them kill each other, especially… Taewoo. A vampire, true, but…
She turned and flung herself from behind the wall, holding her hands out in what must have been a very foolish action. “Stop!” she screamed, and everything froze. Seiji’s eyes widened from where he was just visible through the doorway, and Jackie’s did too. Taewoo’s narrowed. Bright crimson, the exact colour of blood, stared at Jackie and didn’t blink, while the Singaporean alternated between glares at him, and stares at Mirae.
“Mirae, what are you-” he began, but Mirae shook her head firmly and cut him off.
“Don’t kill him,” she ordered.
“But he’s a-”
“I know what he is!” she snapped, and Jackie blinked at her, utterly confused.
“But we-”
“I know,” Mirae cut in again, “but don’t kill him!”
The Chinese hunter from Singapore stared hard at Taewoo, who still looked perfectly willing to kill him, glanced at Mirae, and lowered his gun. Slowly, eyes glued on Taewoo. There was a flash of movement, the gun was ripped from his hands, and the cold metal barrel of Taewoo’s own gun was pressed against Jackie’s head.
The raven-haired vampire stared at Seiji, who had pulled his own gun, and said slowly, carefully, so he didn’t miss a word, “I’ll make it simple. Shoot me, and your friend dies.”
“Taewoo!” Mirae cried, unable to get her mind around the fact that she’d just told Jackie not to kill him, and then he turned and pulled a gun on the hunter, who’d just put down his.
“Shut up.” Taewoo snapped, and Mirae’s eye widened. A pang of sadness shot through her at his words, and she stepped back. “He shot at us, I’m not about to let him walk away free.” His voice was harsh, and Jackie realised he was completely serious. The gun was pressed firmly into the side of his head, reminding far too vividly that he wasn’t in the position to bargain, argue, or shout out much of anything. Seiji, who hadn’t moved yet, knew the same, and his eyes narrowed.
“What do you plan on gaining by doing this?” he asked calmly. He shouldn’t be angered when he was holding a gun to Jackie’s head, just keep that in mind. If he was too riled up, chances were his finger would… slip, and Jackie would be killed.
“Just my life,” Taewoo spat in return, crimson eyes boring into the silver-haired hunter’s. Jackie was at the moment just a bargaining chip, and he wanted to keep it in his hands for the time being. The silver-haired hunter was powerful, he knew that the instant he realised these were the very hunters he and Eunwoo were going to lead to Hyunsuk and company, but he couldn’t afford to kill him at the moment.
“Then take your life, and go,” Seiji replied. The gun in his hand was still fixed with Taewoo’s head in it’s sights, and he waited, finger tightening on the trigger. He couldn’t sacrifice Jackie, but nor could he let the vampire know, or the gun would lose it’s power.
“Y-you’re the vampire…” Jackie said slowly, wide blue eyes staring at Mirae as he realised the truth, “who attacked Mirae… aren’t you,” he said, and Taewoo leaned closer.
“I didn’t attack her, didn’t she tell you that?” His fangs were dangerously close to Jackie’s ear, and the Singaporean hunter twitched.
“Don’t lie,” Jackie spat. “You left her half dead on the floor. I was there, remember? You told me,” he took an angry breath, “to thank her on your behalf.”
Mirae glanced at Taewoo, but he didn’t look to her. Instead, his eyes remained fixated on Seiji, and he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper so Jackie had to strain to hear it.
“And did you tell her for me?”
“No way!” Jackie snapped angrily, eyes meeting Taewoo’s for the first time. Crimson on blue, as bright a blue as the sky. Taewoo let out a gentle breath of air, losing himself for a moment in that blue, so very much like the sky he’d so longed to see again since the day he was murdered during the “Jeju Massacre”. It had been so long… the sky and sun, the grass and sun-drenched flowers…
“Taewoo, please!” Mirae’s voice snapped him out of his reverie, and his eye narrowed as she continued talking. “Don’t kill him! Don’t kill him,” she repeated, emerald eyes pleading with him, even though he wasn’t looking at her. “Please…”
Taewoo’s eye narrowed further, until they were little more than slits. This boy… was apparently very special to her. A hunter. Taewoo suddenly wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger and watch the young man’s brains splatter all over the ground, and he was very tempted to do so. His finger was already tightening on the trigger when Jackie saw the look in his eyes, and decided he didn’t like it in the least.
Small hands suddenly wrapped themselves around his arm, and bright emerald eyes pleaded with him tearfully. “Taewoo, please…” Taewoo blinked, his eyes narrowing one last time, then he let out a low growl and removed the gun from Jackie’s head, and the blonde stepped back hurriedly, retrieving his gun and aiming it at Taewoo’s head.
“Jackie!” Seiji snapped, and Jackie jumped, nearly dropping the gun. Was he going to tell him not to shoot the vampire, the vampire that had nearly killed him, and had attacked Mirae no matter what it said.
“Don’t.” Seiji snatched the gun from Jackie’s hands, and he held it loosely in his own while Jackie raged at him.
“What was that for, huh? That’s a vampire right there in case you didn’t notice! We’re supposed to kill vampires aren’t we? He’s the one that attacked Mirae, and I’m not gonna let-”
“Jackie, he didn’t,” Mirae cut in sharply.
Jackie paused, and swiveled his head to look at Mirae. “What’s that supposed to mean? He left you half-dead on the floor, and he would have killed you if I hadn’t come in!”
“I offered to let him drink my blood!” Mirae shouted back. “He didn’t force me.”
Jackie was dumbstruck. She… let him suck her blood? She let him almost kill her? She let him live? A vampire?
“Why?” Jackie asked simply, utterly confused.
“I have my reasons, and I’m not gonna tell you,” Mirae snapped, and turned toward Taewoo, who was still staring at Seiji again. The silver-haired hunter didn’t seem at all fazed, even when Taewoo’s eyes were such a deep crimson. He blinked once, then nodded, as if accepting something.
“Would you like to come in?” Seiji asked cordially, and Taewoo paused before eventually giving a nod.
“Sure.”
Jackie gaped at Taewoo as he walked coolly past him into the house, a small smirk upon his lips.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter Fifteen
Taewoo glanced around the house as he stepped in after Seiji, taking in the sights of the furniture and decorations that had been spruced up by books and flowers.
Mirae tapped his shoulder and pointed him to a couch and armchair by a window, and he sat while she ran upstairs for a minute. Seiji settled himself on the couch, opposite the armchair Taewoo occupied.
“Your name is Taewoo, right?” the silver-haired hunter asked, and the young vampire nodded briefly. He would have been surprised if a hunter of this calibre didn’t know his name, what with the way Mirae had been saying it outside. Hunters like this one had a tendency to notice everything, and he’d had known this one was no exception.
“You’re Seiji, and you’re from Japan?”
“Yes. Seiji Inada. I’m from Tokuyama, Japan.”
“Konnichiwa, hajimemashitte.” Taewoo greeted with a slight bow.
“Hai hai,” Seii reciprocated with a bow in return. “And the young man whom you just fought with, his name is Jackie Chang. He’s a Chinese, and he’s from Singapore.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about him from Mirae.” Taewoo nodded.
Mirae came down the stairs then, seating herself next to Seiji and across from Taewoo, whom she smiled brightly at.
Jackie plopped down on the other side of Seiji, and scowled at Taewoo, who stared right back. “You saved Mirae?” he asked, like an over-protective father interrogating his daughter’s first date.
“Yeah,” Taewoo replied shortly, “You have a problem with that?”
“Well, I’m her oppa, that’s why I cared to ask, Taewoo.” Jackie pronounced Taewoo’s name condescendingly like a swear word, and Taewoo smirked.
“How’d you do it?” Jackie asked.
“Jackie,” Mirae cut in, “you don’t need to ask so many questions.”
“I just wanna know, that’s all,” Jackie retorted
“C’mon, tell us. Why did you save her?” Seiji asked.
“I owed it to her,” Taewoo replied simply, and Seiji looked up.
“That’s not all, is it?” the silver-haired hunter asked slyly, and Taewoo’s eyes narrowed. What was he getting at? He was making it sound as if he’d had some ulterior motive for saving Mirae, when he really hadn’t. She had saved him, so he saved her in return. He’d owed it to her, and it was as simple as that. What Seiji was suggesting -that Taewoo perhaps liked Mirae- was incorrect for a few reasons. One, he didn’t, and two, vampires were no longer entilted to a relationship with living persons anymore, period.
“Keugay museun sori? What do you mean?” Taewoo asked slowly. It didn’t escape his notice that Mirae had clasped her hands together, and that a faint blush was creeping up her cheeks, nor was he sure, if it did escape Seiji’s as well.
“Nothing.” Taewoo was inclined to believe that was the end of it, but then the hunter spoke again. “Just that vampires don’t make a habit of associating with people, even if one did save their life. Especially if one saved their life. It’s a weakness to be in debt to a non-vampire, isn’t it?” He casually turned another page of his book, and Taewoo’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as he eyed the hunter. He didn’t like the look his face wore. It was one of intelligence, of trained cunning and a knowledge that would allow him to drag Taewoo along by a puppeteer’s strings.
“Except,” Taewoo said slowly, uncertain of what the hunter was planning, “I’m no longer in her debt. I saved her life in return; I don’t owe it to her anymore.”
Seiji shook his head slowly, a tiny knowing smile on his lips. “But you do owe me something,” he told Taewoo, who didn’t react in the least. The young vampire had already made it clear he wasn’t willing to go along with his plan, but there was always a possibility.
When Taewoo didn’t say anything, Seiji continued. “You may not care to admit it, but if I hadn’t stopped Jackie from shooting you just a while ago, you would have been killed.”
Taewoo rose from his chair with a slight rustling of cloth and clapped in mockery. “I should hand it to you for pulling something as ludicrous as that and to expect a favour from me.” He was halfway to the door when Seiji realised he’d just been denied.
“Does that mean Mirae means nothing to you either?” he asked, trying to pique Taewoo’s mind. His plan likely wouldn’t work without the help of at least one strong vampire. When Taewoo paused with his hand on the doorknob, Seiji was sure he had him, but then the young raven-haired vampire spoke.
“I’m a vampire, and she’s not,” Taewoo answered cryptically, “and I thought I’ve already answered that.” He opened the door and stepped outside, but as he left Mirae hurried to the door and waved.
“Taewoo-oppa! Annyung!” she cried, and he raised a hand briefly in farewell. When he disappeared around a corner, she shut the door and turned to Seiji. “What was that all about? What were you talking about?”
“I was trying to get him to help up attack the Regiment Vampires,” Seiji answered, but only blank stares were given in return.
“Um…” Mirae began, but Jackie -who was apparently thinking the same thought – interrupted her.
“Since when were we attacking the Regiment Vampires?”
Seiji blinked. “Since they kidnapped Mirae. These vampires may come back to get her again. We don’t know why they kidnapped her in the beginning, but they may decide to come back and try it a second time. Taewoo made it clear he wasn’t stepping in if that happened, so we need to make sure it doesn’t.” he smiled at Jackie, who nodded to indicate his understanding, even if it wasn’t entirely true since he hadn’t been paying attention. Or at least paid attention to the point of understanding.
“Um… Master Seiji?” Mirae asked slowly, “I actually know why they kidnapped me.”
“Really? Why?” Jackie asked, and Seiji waited patiently.
“Go on,” he prodded, and Mirae folded her hands on her lap and continued.
“See, the “Regiment” coven of vampires, and the “Guerrilla” coven, the one Taewoo’s from, have been in a war since more than fifty years ago. When I let Taewoo drink my blood, one of the Regiment Vampires saw it, and thought they could use me as a bait to lure Taewoo.”
“Hey wait,” Jackie said suddenly, totally cutting Mirae off. “Why just that Taewoo guy? It’s a whole entire coven of vampires right, he can’t be the leader can he?”
“Why not?” Mirae shot back, quick to defend the raven-haired vampire even in his absence.
“Because he’s as old as I am!” Jackie cried.
“No, he’s not,” said Seiji. “In fact he’s older than you and I.”
“Huh?”
“He’s a war victim killed more than fifty years ago during the “Jeju Massacre”, remember? So that makes him seventy years old, at least. He looks young because he hasn’t aged since the day he was resurrected as a vampire.”
“Well, actually I think someone else is the leader,” added Mirae. “He is Taewoo’s elder brother, and I think he’s the leader, not Taewoo.”
“What’s his name?” Seiji asked.
“I think his name’s Eunwoo,” Mirae replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Uh-huh, it’s Eunwoo, Shin Eunwoo, I remember. Why do you want to know, Master Seiji?” she asked curiously, peering at the Japanese hunter. “Perhaps you know him?”
****To Be Continued In Book 2****
Saturday, September 1, 2007
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